Hearts' Desires
by heartsyhawk
Summary: Remy likes Rogue, but she has to get over her trust impediment which will prove hard as she severely misinterprets an exchange between Remy and Tabby about a life altering event. Tabby and Kitty are trying to get Rogue out of her own way so she can be wit
1. Singing in the shower version 2point2

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ATTENTION! I HAVE FIXED THIS IN ADDITION TO REMOVING MY ONE SHOT CALLED RIOT GIRL AS FANFICTION IS THREATENING TO CLOSE MY ACCOUNT FOR HAVING SONG LYRICS I DIDN'T WRITE. WHILE I PERSONALLY SEE NO HARM AS LONG AS YOU SAY YOU DON'T OWN IT BUT I'VE HAD MY ACCOUNT FROZEN ONCE FOR A RULE THAT WASN'T A RULE WHEN I BROKE IT SO I'M NOT TAKING CHANCES. AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES NOT FIND THAT FAIR? ANYWAY SORRY FOR ANY EXTRA CONFUSION.

**Hey Everyone. This is my first attempt at a one shot. Coincidentally its also my first fic inspired by a song. Its a Romy (do you expect much else for my first?) I had no intention of writing this when I did. I was minding my own business and listening to an American Idol CD as I did my homework. And then, a certain Stevie Wonder song redone by A J Gil came on. And then a rabid plot-bunny came and savagely attacked me until the idea for this got through my thick skull. So here it is. Tell me what ya think. Oh and just cuz its a one shot doesn't mean I don't love reviews. I'll respond to them in the next chapter of Back in Diapers or 24 hours. Thanks a super poodle!**

**Disclaimer: Oh puh-lease! Do you own X-men? Do you own Stevie Wonder's works? Do you own teenage drama? I thought not. If you don't...why would you assume I do?**

It had been a tough day. Well, a whole lot of them. Recently the Friends of Humanity had been making life Hellish for all mutants. Xavier opened his doors to all the persecuted in the states. It was way over crowded with an average of two to four kids to a room, and still more new recruits came. There were rumors that Xavier was going to open an expansion in Westchester and another on Muir Isle in Scotland.

Charles Xavier had allowed mutants of nearly every age in the doors of the institute. And most of the students were okay with it, even if they were stuffed into bunk beds and lost a whole lot of personal space. They felt sorry for the kids, some of them younger than ten who'd been discovered and driven out of their homes. But the kids freaked out when the list included Magneto's recruits.

The students who knew the brotherhood and Acolytes flipped out. There were fights and screaming matches. But the sad sorry fact was that Magneto had abandoned them and the majority of them were minors and had no homes to go to. Among the four of the boys that were old enough, Lance's parents had died when his powers came in, Piotr's parents were poor Russian farmers and couldn't afford to bring him home, and St. John and Remy were exiled by their families. So they admitted defeat and went to Xavier.

If that wasn't enough to put anybody on edge, not everyone got along so well. Rogue had already broken up Paige Guthrie and Ilyana Rasputin for fighting over a hairbrush; a fist fight between Pyro and Toad, initiated by the latter over a smile from Wanda; A huge brawl between Roberto, Ray, and Sam that Tabitha seemed to somehow be involved in; a power display from Bobby and Scott's brother Alex that seemed to be a competition in which the winner earned Lorna Dane's affections; broken up a battle of the royals while Amara, Jubilee, and a new girl Monet all wanted the bathroom mirror at the same time; and she'd stopped Jean and Emma Frost from completely assassinating each other for some attention from Scott, and this was all before two FOH attacks and the fetching of a new recruit from a mob.

Rogue had a strong desire to take an Aspirin and go curl up with a book until she fell asleep. So she walked down to the infirmiry pondering life in general. Being seventeen wasn't as sweet as everyone always made it seem. She should technically be starting her senior year in September but for safety's sake, the mutants were being home schooled. Xavier's was really turning into a school for mutants.

But the chaos didn't end there. Oh no. What happens when you lock a whole mansion of mutants together when most of them are teenagers? Other than the dinner shift workers at the local pizza restauraunt knowing the exact time somebody will call for a huge order of about sixty pizza's? You got it, romantic tension gets pretty thick.

The mansion's residents all had crazy soap opera style relationships. For a perfect example there was Scott and Jean. The older kids had not been surprised when they announced their engagement and then even got married. Things went well until they got back from their honeymoon and some of the new recruits were around. Emma Frost ignored the matching rings on their fingers as she expressed interest in Scott.

In true Summers tradition, Scott's little brother had troubles of his own. He and Bobby had both fallen for Lorna Dane, a girl who believed she was Pietro and Wanda's half sister.

Speaking of the Maximoffs, Wanda was having problems of her own regarding that flighty feeling called love. Toad will still obsessed with her in a vaguely stalker-esque way, but she wasn't sure she wanted to get herself into a relationship at this point and time. Of course this was a sharp contrast to her dear brother who had roughly six dates a night. It seemed as if Pietro and Tabitha were in a silent competition to sleep with as many members of the opposite sex as was possible, quicker than the competition.. Rogue suspected Tabitha was winning but she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Even Rogue had her share of pursuers. Pietro had been awful flirty lately, she was probably one of the names on the very short list of girls in the mansion he had yet to charm into his bedroom, and she had no plans of becoming a name in his black book; Sam seemed shier around her lately; Colossus was spending time around her, though it was more in platonicly stoic understanding than romantic interest. Lance had gotten quite protective of her, and several of the newer recruits had definitely noticed her. Even Jamie who had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday was eyeing her appreciatively and blushing as red as Jean's hair when caught in the act.

But while all this was a bit flattering, Rogue couldn't help but notice that one certain suitor was missing. For a while when he first arrived, the Swamp Rat had been an obnoxious and horribly flirty mix between Toad and Quicksilver. Then all of a sudden he stopped. Not that she missed it, she told herself. But it was odd to have him go from flirting like he was God's gift to women, to acting quiet around her and walking around, being secretive and moody.

She shook her head as she boarded the elevator. It was probably as simple as he realized that he could get what he obviously wanted from somebody else, like Tabitha or one of the new recruits, at no personal risk. After all, the others could touch, and a whole lot of them used that ability frequently.

Rogue was thoroughly certain and disgusted as the elevator reached the desired floor. She went and knocked on Doctor McCoy's door.

"Come in." He called. She entered and didn't see him so she presumed he was in the new section of the lab, which he had set aside for his new hobby of photography.

He exited a few seconds later. "Ah, Rogue. Long time no see." He commented. "It's been a while since you ended up down here. What brings you to this part of the mansion today? I notice for the first time in a long while on a visit down here in which you are fully conscious."

Rogue sighed at the memories. "Yeah. Ah need an aspirin. Got a killah headache an' the chaos round here's makin' it all worse."

"I've noticed." He said wryly. "There is a reason I stay down here."

"Smart idea."

"So aspirin huh?" The doctor moved to a medicine cabinet and grabbed a bottle of the pain reliever. "I sense more is on your mind than just the hectic happenings of the FOH." He said sagely.

"Well yeah. Ah guess. All the new recruits and fights and everthin' ya know?" Rogue sighed. "An' all the romantic tension's so thick ya could cut it with a knife."

"There we go." beast smiled. "The heart of the matter. Pun definitely intended." He grinned at her. "Is there anything in particular you would like to discuss?"

"It's Gambit." Rogue admitted. "He's...changed. He used to be so flirty and obnoxious and now...he isn't." She frowned weakly.

"I see." The doctor nodded, amused. "Would you like to see the latest photos?" He asked suddenly.

"Sho' thin'." She shrugged. He led her to his photo lab. Several pictures were hanging on a wire drying.

"Wow. These are great." She examined them. They were from a pool party the kids had thrown a week previous.

"Thank you." The doctor bowed his head. "These are my favorite batch. Most especially this one." He pointed towards a group shot of all the original team, former new recruits and Magneto's teams.

"Yeah its great." Rogue admired it.

Beast grinned. "I appreciate that. So...you and Gambit?"

"Hah. No. He's probably off with a thousand other girls a night. He don' want no gal who can't even kiss him."

"Really now?" The doctor raised his eyebrows. He busily searched through his older photographs in a leather bound scrapbook. "Were you good at those pictures where you identify the differences as a child?"

"Ah guess so. Whah?"

"This is a picture taken the day after Gambit, and the other Acolytes and Brotherhood arrived. There was a party then too. How are they different?"

Rogue looked. "Well, in the first one, Wanda was all surly and standing with me away from everyone else. An' in the second one...Toad's got his arms around her. And in the first one, Kitty's hair was longer and in that dumb pony tail. Now its about a foot shorter. An' in the second one Kurt ain' wearin' his image inducer an' Tabitha went from a bright pink bikini to a black one piece. An' actually she looks a little distant in the second one. Not so...Tabby as she was in the first with Ray's arm around her and all...actually she's hanging back a little. And um...In the second one Pyro is wearing rubber duck floaties." Rogue noted skeptically, not sure where this was going.

"Perhaps you are a bit too observant." He smiled. He covered the inner parts of the picture with his large hand. The only two people you could see were Gambit at one end and her on the other. In his other hand he held up the second picture. "I meant these differences." She looked vaguely confused so he continued. "In this first picture all the others separate the two of you. He stands there with sunglasses and nothing but his swim trunks on. No shirt, nothing. He's smirking and if I move my hand slightly you notice that his arm is around Jubilee's shoulders. And here you are sulking, in full uniform, glaring daggers at me for insisting on the snapshot." He smiled gently as she smiled sheepishly. "And then we have this second picture. Exactly four weeks, three days, and two hours apart. You two are right near each other. Notice, he is wearing his X-men uniform. His non customized spandex uniform if I may add. His glasses are off showing those unique of his. He's smiling. An honest, genuine smile not a smirk. His hands? Well, one is holding a soda can. In the other hand he's holding out a water bottle to you. You on the other hand are looking more sweet and friendly than I honestly remember. You're twirling a lock of hair, which is longer and not forcefully straightened. I think, you got to be comfortable around each other. And still, today he wears sleeves and gloves. Do you think he needs them? Not when he's had his powers for a nice eight years. If you ask me, he likes being around you so he is willing to make you comfortable with who you are. You do the same for him. I believe you led him to believe that his eyes were beautiful just as he got you to appreciate your naturally curly hair. But then, nobody asked my opinion." His eyes sparkled in amusement.

"Ah'm not quite sure Ah get what ya sayin'..." Rogue hesitated.

"Rogue, if I may so bold, I do believe our resident Gambit has grown a bit attatched to you. And if you'll forgive me for saying so, he seems to have grown on you a bit as well." McCoy smiled softly.

"Well, uh...Ah gotta git upstairs. See ya." Rogue turned and headed up to her room, a whole new swirl of confusion in her mind.

As she was passing through the guys' dormitories the sense increase she'd gained from absorbing Logan kicked in. She heard Kurt singing along to some German song, Scott whispering how much he loved Jean, and a few boys arguing. She passed the showers and heard someone in the bathroom turning on the water. She shook her head and was about to head to her room when Logan's enhanced hearing allowed her to pick up talking.

"An' dis un's dedicated t' a tres special fille. Je t'aime Rogue. Even if y'll always hate me."

She recognized the voice and was shocked. She hurried upstairs and flopped down on her bed.

About half an hour later there was a knock on her door.

"Its open." She called as she closed the vampire book she'd been reading. In stepped Tabitha. Rogue raised an eyebrow at how edgy the girl looked. "What do ya want Boom Boom?" She asked in irritation.

"Um, well, I kind of put a camera in the guys bathroom for innocent purposes of course." The blonde smirked. "And I think you should see this recording from earlier. Don't worry, somebody put a bottle of shampoo in the way of the camera so all you see is a bottle of green shampoo. But I think maybe you should hear what's on this tape...I only listened in for the first few words but..."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "That's Evan's camera ain' it."

"Yeah. But first, just so you know, he isn't what you think he is... he's really a sweet guy."

"Evan!"

"No. The guy on the tape...Do you want me to leave so you can watch in peace?" Tabitha asked unsurely.

"No. Ya have me really worried. Ah need ya in arms length incase Ah need ta kill ya. Ah ain' in a mood for chasin' ya down."

Tabitha gulped and sat down. She pressed play on the camera.

The door opened. Remy LeBeau stepped into the bathroom carrying a towel, his pajama pants, and looking sweaty and exhausted.

"Merde 's been a long day. (Merde means shit in French.)" He groaned and rubbed his shoulder. "Mebe Remy shouldn't 'ave done de danger room sim wit' Wolvie."

He looked in the mirror and sighed. "Look like deat' reheated. Mebe a shower'll help. Hopefully anyway."

He peeled his shirt off his back and dropped it to the floor. He opened the shower curtain and removed a bottle of shampoo. "Now whose is dis? 'Untangles fur leaving it soft and shiney?' Mus' be dat Nightcrawlah fool. Oh well."

The bottle was placed in front of the camera. Remy finished undressing and turned on the water. He climbed in and sighed.

"Why de long face, LeBeau." He asked himself. "Y' got it all, de cash, de adoration o' de filles...well all cept une. Dat mus' be it. Why does Remy care so much bout her. Dumb question LeBeau. She different. She de first fille not willin' t' do anyt'in t' spend time wit' y. She helped y' get confident wit' y' eyes. She so...special. An' she don' like y' at all." He sighed. "Kinda like dat song by Stevie Wonder."

"An' dis un's dedicated t' a tres special fille. Je t'aime Rogue. Even if y'll always hate me."

Remy proceded to sing the Stevie Wonder song "My Chèrie Amour" in a voice that was more beautiful than one would expect from somebody such as the Swamp rat. **(THAT IS SO LAME THANKS A LOT FANFICTION! CURSE YOU! Anyway y'all hopefully know the lyrics, if not look 'em up online cuz I can't afford to get my self into any more trouble on this site).**

Remy sighed and stepped out of the shower. "Remy don' know what t' do. I t'ink I be in love a fille who won' never love me back."

Tabitha stopped the tape and looked at Rogue as if expectantly waiting for an explosion. "I'll just go now. I just thought you should hear that."

Rogue blinked. "Was that really the swamp rat?"

"Yeah. He has a great shower voice." Tabitha grinned. "Great body too."

"Tabitha!" Rogue blushed.

"Oh come on girl. You have to have noticed. He's always hanging around you and you don't check him out?"

"Okay, its time fo' ya ta go away." Rogue's ears turned a brighter red.

"Ohhh! She's not denying it! She has noticed then." Tabby grinned. "So what do you like the most about him? His washboard abs? His chiseled pecs? His hulking biceps? Or maybe his oh so fine behind?"

"Tabitha, git out of mah room!"

"You are no fun. But anyway...so are you going to go out with him? Date him? Marry him? Have his kids?"

"OUT!" Rogue ordered.

"Sheesh I'm goin'. Don't think I'll let this drop. See ya." The blonde ran out of the room before Rogue could massacre her.

Rogue floppped onto her bed. "He really likes me? He sounded so sincere...maybe I should give him a chance?"

"Give who a chance?" Her roommate Kitty entered with a giggle. "Who was sincere? Does Rogue have a crush?" She teased.

"Does Kitty have a death wish?" Rogue scowled.

"Oh come on. Spill, I'll tell you something if you tell me."

"That's okay."

"Oh come on. Tell me! Does it have anything to do with Tabby running out of here chuckling?"

"Fine. She came in here to show me a video tape of...someone singing in the guys shower."

Kitty clapped a hand to her mouth and squealed. "Like, ohmigosh! You watched one of the guys take a shower? Who?"

"Mind outta the gutter Kit." Rogue's ears glowed redder. "Ah didn't see anything bad and it was just Gambit."

Kitty squealed again. "Oh, like even better! He's totally hot. He can sing?"

"Need Ah remind ya that ya got ya very own lovin' boyfriend ta dote on?"

Kitty smirked. "Well, I know that, but I can still like, talk can't I?"

"Why doncha go harrass him?" She pleaded.

"Rogue..."

"Alright.Geez Ah'll tell ya. Ya he can sing. He ain't too bad either. Apparently he likes meh o' somethin'. Don' know why. An' if ya squeal Ah'll throw ya out the window." She warned as Kitty stifled her squeal.

"So do you like him?"

"Kit..."

"Okay but he likes you! You'd be the cutest couple."

"If Ah say Ah'll give him a chance can Ah go ta sleep?"

Kitty squealed. When Lance found her outside the window drawing up plans for a wedding, he did not dare ask.

**Okay well that's that. It's now fixed so I can't get in trouble for having the lyrics. Sorry for any confusion this whole thing caused and I hope fanfiction realizes how stupid this descision is. If any of you know how to complain to them, let me know alright? It would make everything a lot easier. I have a definite complaint to file. Ok well now I'm working on BID so see ya soon!**

**heart's desires chapter one version 2.2 completed 4-28-05 **


	2. Tabitha's Services

**Hi everyone. This WAS originally s'posed to be a one shot but...well here is chapter two back by popular demand. A whole lot of y'all thought it could be a great story and I realized you're pretty much right so this won't be huge but I think maybe I can continue it a little bit. In all honesty, I never got so many reviews on one story after such a short time. So Y'all asked and I'm giving it to ya. Don't plan on this being as long or as regular as BID or 24 hours but I'll see what I can do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't even have my own room. You think I own the stuff I write with? Hah. In my dreams.**

**xmengirlzrule-** Glad you like it. Thanks for the compliment.

**roguewannabe29-** Glad you like it so much. Here's chapter two, you can consider it a personal favor. Your review put the idea of continuing in my mind.

**ishandahalf-** Glad you liked it. Yeah, I liked having Kitty draw up wedding plans. I'm continuing. Never knew there would be so much interest.

**Katatonia- **Thanks. I guess I'm not leaving it like I thought.

**fudgebrowne-** Uh...glad you liked it. Here's an update.

**Black cat of the Black Rose-** Glad you like it. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. So you like this more than 24 Hours? Hm, wonder why.

**Baude**- (or SCaliGirlHK if ya want) Well upon thinking about it, it is a nice starter chap. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

**howlerdrode-** Well, guess you shouldn't believe everything you read cuz its not a one shot now is it? I'd like to think of myself as a master of the cliffhanger but there's others out there who are probably better at it. Rogue never said she'd marry the swamp rat, but Kitty's assuming. Yeah its presumptuous of her but hey, that's Kitty for ya. And who knows, maybe she'll need it.

**fantomfictioner-** Oh are you a Danny Phantom fan? Um...thanks...I think...

**Renaissance Wench- **I know the Marvel image of guys is way not the singing type. But I like to think my favorites have a slightly sensitive side too. And I bet with his accent, Remy's singing would be to die for. Glad you like it and I guess I got the hint.

**Furry Elf-** Glad you like it. I have an awesome story in mind for this one.

**Ms.Rogue LeBeau-** Glad you like it.

**Jamie-** Hey you are talking to one of the most obsessive people you will ever meet here. No need to apologize to me. And yeah I bet his expression would have been priceless. From one over obsessee to another, enjoy this.

oo (OO)

Kitty chuckled to her self as she scribbled on her paper. "Hm, like, what flowers?.."

"Personally, my favorite is carnations. But that's just me." Jean smiled and dropped to the grass beside the younger girl. "What are you doing? Lance came out to find you and quickly came back in saying if we asked him no questions, he'd tell us no lies."

"Hey Jean." Kitty didn't look up. "I'm just planning a wedding. No big."

The red head raised an eyebrow. "So Lance proposed then?"

"No. Wait why do you ask? Is he hinting?" She smiled hopefully.

Jean grinned secretively. "That would be telling. Wouldn't it? So then are you planning your wedding before someone proposes so you won't be jittery?"

"Like, my wedding's been planned since I was in ninth grade. This isn't mine." Kitty went back to her planning.

"Then who...?"

"That would be telling now wouldn't it?" She teased. "Hm...Do you think she'd object to roses? Hm...maybe we could get some black ones...But red and purple would be great too...oh and white too. Maybe Ororo could grow them..."

"Kitty..."

"Hm, do you think Rogue would look better in a princess style gown, or maybe something Victorian?"

"Rogue is getting married?" Jean asked in surprise. "Since when? I didn't even know she's dating anyone..."

Kitty looked up startled. "Oh, he didn't ask her yet. But they are like, so totally a match made in heaven. I'm just helping them along, because they're like, so totally both in denial."

"Kitty...who are you talking about?"

"Oh...Remy. Rogue said she'd give him a chance. I can't wait. He's totally over the moon for her and she, like, adores him too. She just doesn't know it yet."

Jean sighed. "Kitty, don't jump ahead too far. He has a history. He's been with more girls than Pietro if that is possible. Don't encourage Rogue to throw herself into a relationship that will only hurt her."

From up in her room, Rogue moved away from the window and resisted the temptation to slam it shut. Who was Jean to act like Rogue was a baby? Did nobody trust her own judgment? Obviously not if Kitty even thought she needed her own wedding planned for her. Wasn't it a normal thing for young girls to plan their weddings as kids?

Rogue wouldn't admit it for the world, but she had her ideal wedding set back when she was thirteen. She had the dress and everything planned. All that was missing was the perfect groom until her powers came in. Then she buried that plan far away. She could never get married if she could never touch. What would the point be anyway?

She sighed and flopped down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and frowned. It was tempting to tell Kitty that roses were corny and she had always wanted a gown with a long veil and no straps and a gauzy skirt. But that would mean admitting she'd been eavesdropping with Logan's acute hearing. She began to drift to sleep while thinking about what she'd just learned.

Meanwhile, out in the yard, Kitty huffed indignantly. "Jean, don't you trust Rogue's ability to judge him? And why are you being so judgmental? Haven't you noticed how much he's changed since he came here?"

"Who Remy? Well yeah, who hasn't? He's gone from the competition for Pietro and Tabitha in the 'who can sleep with the most people' contest to Mr. Mysterious. He hasn't been drinking any more. He quit that awful smoking habit of his and now he never wears sunglasses. But still, he was one of Magneto's right hand henchmen. And he is a thief."

"Like, that's not fair. He can't help how he was raised." Kitty argued. "It's like I can't help being a Cubs fan. That's how all his family was Jean. And well, not all of Magneto's recruits had a choice." She said softly. Jean could tell that there was more to the story than what Kitty had said but she didn't press for it.

"Kitty, I just don't want Rogue jumping into a relationship with him right now. She's had it rough enough. I don't think it would be a great idea for her to get a broken heart."

"She's not the one I worry about." Kitty smiled softly. "She's a big girl. She can deal with anything he throws. Even if things go badly, it wouldn't be her first heartbreak you know."

"Oh yeah that Cody kid in Mississippi, right?" Jean frowned as she tried to remember him. Kitty raised an eyebrow.

"Like, Not exactly who I meant." Kitty chuckled.

"Oh?" Jean tilted her head to the side and followed Kitty's gaze to the golden band on her finger. "No! Are you serious? She did not like..."

"Scott? You mean you didn't know?"

"We were never that close. Oh wow. I didn't know that. No wonder she was so surly at the wedding. I'd have been a bit cranky if I had to be in a situation like that too." Jean sighed. "Well that explains part of why we never seemed to get along. I was a threat to her."

"Don't worry she's over him. And Remy's affection came just in time. Maybe this whole thing will make her happier."

Jean smiled as Kitty went back to her notes. "That would be nice. But I don't want to see a teammate hurt."

"Me either Jean. But I don't like seeing her so miserable either. But something tells me he wouldn't be the problem. I think she'd flee at the first sign of trouble. He really does like her. Apparently he sings in the shower about how he adores her." She giggled.

"I bet he has quite the voice." Jean winked. "Well I'll go inform Lance that you're not crazy." She rose and headed inside. "Don't stay out too late. Curfew for the minors is eleven tonight."

Kitty nodded. "Alright. It's just such a nice night. I'll be in soon."

Jean nodded and walked to the door. Then she turned with a smile. "She likes tulips. But you didn't hear it from me."

Kitty blinked in confusion as the older woman entered the mansion. Then she grinned and scrawled it in her notes.

Meanwhile, Tabitha had entered the boys' dormitory wing and was standing in the hall mentally deciding if she should do what was on her mind. Agitated, she leaned back and hit her head against the wall with a thump as she settled to the floor. The door to her left opened and Bobby looked out curiously.

"Hey Tabby. What brings you to this neck of the mansion. Or would it be who?" He smirked impishly.

"Funny." She rolled her eyes. "Actually, I was looking for Gambit's room. I have to talk to him." She shrugged up to the smirking guy standing to her side.

"Right." Well, his room is two down on the other side. Be careful, he shares with that crazy arsonist wannabe, the tin man, and Alvers." With that Bobby winked and closed the door. Tabitha heard the music from some Mario game or another start up and rolled her eyes. Bobby and Alex always had their stupid tournaments for Lorna's affection. Jamie played too but was usually excluded after things took on a green haired gleam. And afterwards, Evan would usually start an argument about surfing versus skating. Being a Summers apparently sets the bar high for a guy.

So Tabitha moved down the hall. She stood nervously in front of the door she wanted and fidgeted. She knew that the rumors were probably already starting with Bobby and his roommates. Yet, she felt that this was right somehow, that she owed it to him and Rogue. So she took a deep breath and knocked a few loud times.

The door opened and Lance was looking crazed. "Oh its you. Run while you still can." He whispered urgently. She raised an eyebrow but made no motion to move. So he sighed and allowed her entrance. "I know you don't want to see me so who are you here for? Pyro? Colossus? Or Gambit?"

"The last one. Is everyone decent?"

"Like you care anyway, but yeah."

"Thank you." Tabitha entered the room and gazed around. Four bunk beds, no question who belonged in which. The top bunk on one side of the room had bright orange sheets with a blue and purple flame trim. There were pictures of fire papering the wall and ceiling of that area. The top on the other side had nondescript blankets in a natural earthy color. A few pictures and a poster or two hung by the bed and a guitar leaned casually against the foot of the bed. The bottom on that side was pristinely made. Not a wrinkle was present on the soft gray bedding. There were various sketches and paintings hung on the wall. And the fourth and final bed obviously belonged to Gambit as he had collapsed onto it and pulled a blood red pillow with black trim over his head.

Tabitha followed Lance. "We have company guys." Pyro looked up from the TV documentary on forest fires to grin. "A Sheila! Wanna watch TV?" She smiled and shook her head. Colossus smiled softly and nodded at her before returning his focus to his easel and paints.

"Uh...is he alive?" She pointed to Gambit.

Pyro shrugged. "No clue. If he don't git up then maybe he died." She looked startled so he walked over and prodded the Cajun in the side. "Oy Mate. Ye got a visitor. An' its a Sheila."

"Go 'way. Told y' s'not Remy's." He mumbled in his sleep.

John looked to Tabitha who looked dreadfully confused. "You'll have to excuse me mate, Sheila. And people say its me what's a psycho. Alas," he sighed. "none of them ever hear him when he's sleep talking." He shook his head sympathetically. "Poor bloke. If I was to guess, all his explosions addled his poor little Cajun brains." Suddenly his attention was caught by the firefighters on the documentary. "No! You blooming idiots! Don't put the fire out! It did nothing to you! Stop! AH! NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THE HOSES! The poor fire..." He got really close to the TV and looked ready to burst into tears. "The pretty fire didn't deserve to die so young." He wiped tears away.

Tabitha cast an alarmed glance to Colossus who shrugged. "It's his favorite videotape."

Lance rolled his eyes from up on his bed where he was tuning his guitar. "Don't worry this is pretty usual for them Tabby. Gambit falls asleep and sleep talks. Some of it could actually be used as blackmail but...uh I don't wanna sink that low."

"In other words, he's got something as bad or better on you." Tabitha crossed her arms in amusement. Lance ignored the statement.

"Anyway, The Russian over there never really says too much. Just paints or draws. And Pyro watches that tape over and over again. He calls it one of the best-written dramas and/or tragedies he's ever seen. Of course, being the pyromaniac he is, it gives him nightmares. Fortunately for me, he's close enough to Colossus to beg him to stay up until he falls asleep." Lance sighed as if stating he felt he was only sane person in the room.

Tabitha nodded sympathetically. "Fortunately for me, Amara, Jubes, and that Lorna chick are pretty much okay. Well, except when Iceman's name comes up. Then its pretty much a three way cat fight and I get to videotape and referee, for black mail purposes only of course."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so I'll tell Gambit you stopped by. Oh and if you run into Kitty, could you say hi for me?"

"Do you want me to hug her and kiss her and say you love her too Lancey?" Tabitha batted her eyes mockingly.

"Cute. Bye now."

Suddenly Remy's pillow moved. "Did John say dere be a fille here?" He murmured.

"Yeah, just one of my old housemates Gambit, nothing to worry about." Lance winked at Tabitha and mouthed. "Watch. Three. Two. One." He gestured dramatically as the Cajun sat up very quickly, scanning the room with wide demonic eyes. Unfortunately he was too tall to sit up so quickly so he hit his head.

"Oh Merde! (merde means shit in French)" He cursed and rubbed his head.

He opened his eyes hurriedly and smiled but noticed Tabitha standing there suppressing a giggle and it faded. "Oh. S' just you."

"Well you sure know how to make a girl feel loved." Tabitha scowled. "Expecting someone else?"

"Wishing for someone else, more like." Lance laughed.

"Someone like a certain Southern belle?" Tabitha smirked.

Remy's face clouded. "Don' y' ever say dat word 'gain."

Colossus's face paled. "Comrade, she does not know any better. Do not get angry with her."

"Know what?" Tabitha asked curiously.

"None y' business fille." Remy snapped rudely.

"Don't bite my head off, LeBeau." She snapped back. "I just came here to talk. See if I ever try to help anyone ever again!" She threw her arms up and sighed in exasperation.

"Huh?" Remy tilted his head to the side.

"We need to talk. Now. In private." She gestured for him to come out into the hall and all three of the other boys watched curiously.

He closed the door behind himself and raised an eyebrow. "So what dis about?"

Tabitha sank to the ground and patted the floor beside her. "This is going to take a little while." He hesitantly sat down in front of her.

"Well, I...uh should probably start with why there was a camera in the bathroom."

"Say no more." Remy put up a hand. "Remy didn't do it. More like Quickie's style. Y' bes' bet is t' check wit' him."

A faint pink blush that crept to her cheeks shocked him. "Um, it wasn't in the GIRL'S bathroom..."

"Den personally, Remy'd check wit' Da Costa ou Dukes."

"Huh! Oh Roberto and Freddy definitely don't swing that way." She shook her head. She matched her blue eyes to his red and black and wondered if she should be doing what she was about to. She wondered if she should try to snag the swamp rat for herself but then guilt overwhelmed her at the thought. He already adored Rogue.

"It was a girl who put it in there." She said shamelessly. He raised an eyebrow. She averted her gaze and her cheeks grew slightly pinker. "It was...it was...it-was-me." she mumbled quickly.

"Pardon? Remy no speak Pietro-ese."

"I did it." She forced herself to look at him.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So who did y' see?" She gave him a significant look as if to call him an idiot. The other brow shot up. If he was embarrassed he didn't show it. "So, y' like what y' saw?"

"Nah. I'm allergic to that stuff Blue uses for his fur." She said casually. "The view was okay until you put that bottle in the way." She explained. "Nice abs by the way, how much do you work out to get them that defined?"

"Way too much." He winced at the memory of the danger room work out with Logan earlier. "But, y' gotta be in shape if Logan picks y' t' be his personal punchin' bag in de danger room."

"Oh." Tabitha nodded. "Well anyway...you...uh...have a nice shower singing voice." She commented casually.

He swallowed slightly. "Oh dat..."

"Look...this is all new to me but here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the incriminating tape. "This is the original and I didn't make copies."

"What's de catch?" He asked suspiciously as he held the tape gingerly.

"I don't really want anything and believe me it surprised me too." She cut him off at the widening of his eyes. "Well, I want to help. I think how you feel for Rogue is sweet. And I think its possible she might have feelings for you."

"Pah. Remy coulda told y' dat petite. De Rogue hates Remy. She wishes dat he die a painful deat' an' never bot'er her 'gain."

Tabitha smirked. "You really have been avoiding her lately haven't you? Question is, are you even in the same time zone?"

"What's dat s'posed t' mean?"

"Well for starters, she's been asking questions about the changes. She's worried. And she was nearly drooling over that tape."

"She what! Y' showed it t' her! Of all people!" He asked, with a look that made him look like she'd just kicked his puppy into the street.

"Well nobody's perfect." Tabitha shrugged. "And I only watched it to the dedication before I showed her. How was I supposed to know she wasn't allowed to know!" She asked innocently.

"Dis is de end. She gonna charge in here an' have Wolvie gut Remy." He sighed dramatically. "An' here Remy was just gittin' t' like his inside organs inside where dey b'long."

"Oh don't be such a drama queen...er king." She rolled her eyes. "She has no murderous intentions...well toward you anyway." She grinned sheepishly. "But the point is, she was totally gushing over the whole thing. She was nearly drooling as we watched the tape and she looked like she was going to cry with how sincere you sounded. She likes your voice." A suggestive gleam jumped to Tabitha's mischievous blue eyes. "Well, I don't think that's all she likes about you..."

He smiled softly. "Dis her or y'?"

"Oh puh-lease!" Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Do I look shy? Do I look like I have problems saying you're hot as all hell and you are serious hot stuff and I wish you were all mine?"

"Non. Y' seem a bit mo' bold." Tabitha raised an eyebrow. He looked hopeful. "So some o' dis be comin' from Rogue? Fo' real?"

"Well duh. The point is I think she likes you. I'm pretty sure she'd give you a chance if you asked her out. And the only problems would probably be Blue, the Summerses, and Wolvie. And the only real trouble would be the Badger but he doesn't really like any of us girls dating."

"Oh so jus' de un who already got a personal vendetta 'gainst Remy. Nuttin' t' worry 'bout then." He sighed sarcastically.

"Oh ye of little faith." Tabitha shook her head. "I have a theory. Badger likes us girls. If she really does like you, he can't hurt you without hurting her. And everyone knows she's his favorite. Rogue's like a daughter to him."

Remy nodded. "Oui. Which makes it all de worse. Remy dealt wit' enough angry pères t' last a lifetime."

"It'll be alright. Don't be so quick to judge. Badger just likes bullying guys around. He scared the living crap out of Bobby and the others at first."

"Petite, he still does." Remy raised an eyebrow.

"Well that's because they try to break the rules." She rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. "What do you say? I'll help you, but on one condition. You can't hurt her. I'm dead serious she's been used to much. If I help you, you cannot hurt her. Can you manage that?" She asked seriously.

"Petite, She de firs' fille dat Remy actually don' wanna sleep wit'. Remy wanna git t' know her an' actually have a real r'lationship. Wit' actual dates an' stuff." He closed his eyes in thought. "Dere be no intention t' hurt nobody. Dat why Remy bin stayin' away. Don' need none o' y' kids findin' out. Fo' de love o' N'Arlins, Remy be twen'y years old. Twen'y one in October. Would it do t' have everyone an' his brother's dog t' know dat Remy head over heels fo' a petite seventeen yeah old fille?"

"No. I guess not." Tabitha shrugged. "What is it with guys and not showing emotion?"

"We ain' allowed t', petite." He rolled his eyes.

"Exactly hun," She put a finger to his chin. "And that's why women have a longer lifespan. So are you serious? If so, I'll help, for a price."

"A price?" He inquired.

"What you think I do this kinda thing for free? I don't think so. I don't do charity. I have a reputation to keep ya know." She winked.

"Fine. Fifty bucks. An' y' help Remy wit' his problem. Y' deliver messages an' give advice an' be dere when y' needed. An' y' don' tell nobody else."

"Make it sixty."

"Fifty-five an' not un penny mo', deal ou no deal?" He stuck his hand out to her.

She pretended to consider then grabbed his hand. "You got yourself a deal. Fifty-five bucks."

"Okay. Remy'll have de money fo' y' t'morrow mornin'."

"So why fifty-five?" She asked curiously.

"Cuz dat's all dat Cyke's li'l brot'er has in his wallet." Remy smirked with a gleam in his eye. "T'ank y' Tabit'a. Y' services be really appreciated." The two rose and he awkwardly hugged her. "Bon nuit, petite. We kin start dis t'morrow." He kissed the back of her hand and retreated to his room.

Tabitha smiled and was about to head back to her own room when the door beside her opened. "Well, well, well." Was all Roberto DaCosta had to say. He stood there shaking his head.

"Ah guess yo' back up ta ya old tricks." Sam Guthrie glowered at her.

"What do you mean? She asked hesitantly.

"Toying with another guy's emotions. And bringing cash into it too. Gambit? Jeez Tabitha, how much lower can you sink?" Ray Crisp crossed his arms.

"Huh? Oh Remy and I aren't-"

"Save it."

"But its not what you think!" She started indignantly. "There's nothing going on between us!"

"Right. Just like ya love me." Sam sighed with a snarl. "And nothing's going on with you and Roberto or Ray. Or at least nothing was when you were with me."

"That was different. If you just let me explain-"

"Oh shut up. We heard your conversation with him. Sounded pretty cozy." Ray sneered.

"But I'm just-"

"Don't waste your breath Smith." Roberto rolled his eyes. "And you should probably go get your rest. You know, if you are going to be giving Gambit your services starting tomorrow and that."

Startling tears welled in her eyes. "I said I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Boom-Boom. Sorry isn't just a band-aid you can stick on every little hurt or every big problem." Sam bit his lip angrily. "Sorry can't undo what you did."

"I never meant for it to-"

"Oh just shut up you slutty blond bimbo!" Roberto crossed his arms. "We don't want to hear it. All your lies, the heartbreak, the headache, it isn't worth it. You aren't worth it."

She burst into tears and turned to run, in the mean time, bumping into Quicksilver who looked confused as he stood in the hallway listening to the argument. He blinked and followed the path of the distraught girl down the hall with his eyes.

"What-are-your-problems?" He asked angrily. "Why-did-you-make-her-cry?"

"Why do you care?" Ray challenged. "She got less than she deserves Maximoff. For what she did."

"Which-was...?" Pietro tapped his foot and then looked at his watch. "I-don't-have-all-day. I'll-just-go-talk-to-her-then." With that he zoomed off leaving the trio of disgruntled boys to get back into their room.

In seconds he arrived at the door to Tabitha's room. He knocked and entered without waiting for a response. To his immediate shock, the blonde was weeping into her neon pink pillowcase with her three roommates sitting around and comforting her.

"Shh, Tabby it will be alright." Amara smiled soothingly as Lorna patted her back encouragingly.

"Like, what are you doing here Maximoff?" Jubilee noticed him and frowned. "Are you the person who made her so upset?"

"Who-me?" He asked in genuine surprise. "She-ran-into-me-in-the-hall-and-she-was-already-upset." He explained.

"Like, sure Pietro, we totally believe you." Lorna glared at the boy who she still believed to be her younger half-brother. "You make girls cry, like, all the time. Its like a hobby with you."

"That-is-not-true!" He glared.

She gave him a significant eye roll and went back to attempting to calm Tabitha down. To her surprise Tabitha whimpered something indistinguishable into her pillow. It sounded something vaguely like "imph an if faw. Neabe be arrow a nome"

"What? Tabitha? What did you just say?" Amara asked softly.

"See? She's upset and its his fault." Lorna accused with a perfectly manicured finger aimed at Pietro.

"I said, 'it's not his fault. Leave Pietro alone." Tabitha raised her head for a few moments, revealing a tear-stained miserable face before flopping back down weakly.

Pietro seemed disturbed by this sight but he shook his head to clear his mind. "All-I-know-is-Crisp, Da Costa, and-Guthrie-were-all-ganged-up-on-her-and-throwing-insults-at-her. Then-she-started-crying-and-ran-off-after-bumping-into-me. So-I-followed-because-I-wanted-to-know-what-was-going-on. They-were-fighting-outside-my-room. I-asked-the-guys-but-since-they're-Dumb-Dumber-and-Stupid-they-took-too-long-so-I-came-after-her."

"That's sweet." Amara smiled sweetly.

"Yeah...so...Boom-Boom? You okay?"

Her only response was a deep sigh. He sat down at her bedside in concern. "Boom-Boom? Please-talk-to-me?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone Speedy." She avoided his eyes.

"You-know, I-lived-with-you-for-long-enough-to-know-that-you-say-that-when-you-really-need-to-talk." He raised an eyebrow. "So-get-talking. I-need-my-beauty-sleep-and-so-do-you. Especially-when-you're-crying-yourself-a-freaking-river." He smirked as she grabbed her pillow and smacked him in the face with it.

"Jerk." She grumbled.

"Crybaby." He said with challenge in his eyes.

"Pain in the butt."

"Eyesore."

"Idiot." She smiled slightly

"Ditz." He shot back.

"Albino freak."

"Dumb blonde."

"Egotistic moron."

"Psycho witch."

"Daddy's boy."

"X-geek girl."

"Turkey brain."

"Cheese face."

"Jock."

"Loser."

"Prep,"

"Punk."

"Boy"

"Girl."

"Idiot."

"Meanie."

She raised her eyebrows "Meanie? What are you, four?"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "I'm-rubber-you're-glue. Whatever-you-say-bounces-off-me-and-sticks-to-you."

She whacked him with the pillow again. "I'm older."

"I-look-better."

"Oh you do not!"

"Do so!"

"No you don't!" Tabitha's pillow smacked him again.

"Yes-I-do!" He snatched her other pillow and smacked her with it.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Nuh-uh!" She insisted as each time she responded, Pietro received a whack to the head from her pillow.

"Yeah-huh!" Pietro matched each hit with one of his own.

"You don't!"

"I-do-too!" The two stubborn, (and immature) mutants had gotten closer and closer with each response so the pillow would have more force when it hit the other. Both glared into the other's blue eyes. A simultaneous smirk curled their lips as they both swung the pillows at the same time. They collided and burst, sending feathers every which way. It looked like a blizzard of feathers, and this sent Tabitha cracking up.

"It's snowing feathers!" She giggled and twirled around in it. She slipped and fell. "Help me up Speedy." She held her arms up like a small child.

"Why?" He tilted his head.

"Cuz it's slippery." She pouted.

He rolled his eyes and helped pull her to her feet. She stumbled and tripped closer to him. She laughed and then made the mistake of looking up into his eyes. They were deeper than she remembered, making her feel like she was in a different galaxy than him. He looked thoughtful and distant. Yet his arms were right here on this planet, still holding her up. She got lost in his gaze.

He smiled softly and subconsciously moved a blond bang from her face. A finger traced the tear streaks in concern. He moved in slightly and looked at her closer. She smiled and moved up to kiss him.

Both seemed in a state of dream until a loud growl brought them back to the room. Wolverine's gaze swept over the three girls giggling quietly in their own beds, the burst pillows and mess of feathers, all before landing on Pietro Maximoff leaning down slightly to kiss Tabitha.

"What the Devil is going on in here?" He growled in warning.

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Hi people. As I guess you can tell, this is turning into a story. I figured out where I can take it, and I hope you all enjoy it. I think I'll change the name to Hearts' Desires or something a little later. So how'd I do with the Tabbietro? I have acquired a taste for it lately but I'm not too used to writing it. As always tell me what you think, I love feed back. Review for the love of the review Swedish like Ninja monkeys!


	3. Breakfast at Tabitha's well ok Xavier's

**Chapter 3 of Hearts' Desires here. Welcome aboard and please keep your arms and legs in the ride at all times for your safety.**

**Ok I know I've been taking forever but cut me some slack. Its not easy to have a life in the real world and three in the fictitious one. And homework doesn't do itself. Since finals are coming up the teachers have suddenly realized that now they better cram all the stuff we were supposed to learn but never did into the last quarter. On the plus side summer vacay's on its way.**

**Disclaimer- Think about it. Think really hard. Think about the possibility of me actually owning something so huge as the X-men in this seemingly logical world when I don't even have my own room.**

**And a new tradition of a quote starting each chapter begins here- **A dessert without cheese is like a pretty woman who is missing an eye--French Proverb

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Logan stood in the doorway looking more than a little angry and less than a bit thrilled. "I ain't askin' why Speedy's in an all girls dorm. I ain't askin' why the two o' ya are so close and cuddly. All I'm sayin' is that it had better change before I count to three. Or Speedbump, yell have a nice set of navel piercin's." Logan's voice was low and silky and all the teens in the room gulped knowing it was a sign of threat and danger.

"Logan..." Amara started but a growl told the princess to hold her tongue.

"He was trying to comfort her." Lorna blurted. Then she blushed slightly. "Sir."

"I'm not too keen on this kinda comfort." Logan raised an eyebrow toward Pietro's arms which were still around Tabitha's waist. In shock he hadn't been able to move. Now his eyes grew wide and he pulled his arms back. "What was so bad that ya needed ta cling ta him?" Logan crinkled his nose in confusion.

"She was crying Mr. Logan." Jubilee blurted before either guilty party could respond.

"What the Hell'd you do to her Maximoff!" Logan snarled.

"Wait no it wasn't Pietro!" Tabitha cried with wide eyes.

"Oh?"

"No. It was Ray, Roberto, and Sam who made her cry." Jubilee broke in. "Pietro was trying to find out what was wrong."

Logan rolled his eyes and looked directly at Tabby. "This about the incident last week?" She looked away and nodded.

Pietro and all her roommates looked at her in curiosity. What incident could he possibly be referring to. But nobody got a chance to ask. All of a sudden she looked pale and miserable and terrified. She sat on her bed and fiddled with the corner of the bedspread.

Logan nodded to her in understanding. "Alright Speedy. This is yer first and only warning. Yer not ever gonna be in here or any other girl's dorm again. Out!" The young mutant grinned at how easy he was getting out of this situation.

"So, does-this-mean-I'm-not-in-trouble?"

Logan grinned, and it was disturbing to behold. "Oh I never said that. I'll be seeing you at five sharp for a danger room session." He chuckled and held the door open for the scowling teenager.

"Lights out Ladies." He said gruffly as he shut their bedroom door. He headed down the hall. Pietro fell into step beside him.

"What was that all about?" He tilted his head in curiosity.

"None o' yer business Speedbump." Logan grunted.

"What incident? What happened?"

"Look kid, her business is her business. This ain't yer concern."

"I got a right to know why she was crying." Pietro crossed his arms defiantly.

"Then ask her." The older man snapped.

"Don't think I won't." Pietro muttered sullenly. "It have anythin' to do with the three morons who made her cry?"

Logan gave him an irritated glare. "Keep yer nose outta this kid. She don't pry inta yer life. Repay the favor."

Pietro let it drop for a moment. "What happened to her?"

The older man growled. "Since we're on this schedule, what the hell were you doing in an all girls dorm? You know the rules Maximoff."

The albino teen frowned. "You won't answer my question but I gotta answer that?"

The silence spoke volumes. "You know, if my father knew how you people were treating me..."

"Yer dear old Dad ain't around at the moment. He ditched ya so yer stuck with us for a while. And I don't care if yer father's the damn president of the united states, which he definitely ain't, yer no exception to the rules."

Pietro scowled. "For your information I wanted to talk to her."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Really? So now to talk you gotta go into a girls bedroom and put yer arms all over her?"

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Now tell me what happened."

"Here's yer room. You'll do well to stay in it till u meet me at five." Wolverine grunted. "I'll be checkin' up on ya with yer roommates."

Pietro sulked and entered his room. Freddy was sitting on his bed and reading a recipe book. Tomorrow was his night to cook and he wanted to find something that most of the kids would like. Toad was watching some cartoon special on TV.

"Hey 'Tro." Toad acknowledged him.

Pietro scowled and turned out the lights and flopped onto his dark blue blankets which had never been made this morning.

"What's up with him?" Fred asked Toad with bewilderment.

"Like I know, fool?" Toad shrugged. "Guess he's finally run outta girls to mess around with. Or maybe its just that time o' the month or somethin'."

Pietro shot him a nasty glare. "Danger room. Five. Shut up."

"Oh! What'd ya do?" Toad grinned impishly.

The albino speedster rolled over. "Got caught in a girls' bedroom." He grumbled.

Both of his roommates' eyes widened considerably. "Whose?"

Pietro was silent for a moment. "The Princess, The fourth of July human incarnation, Tabitha, and my...sister's."

"Huh? But those ain't Wanda's roomies."

"No I think he means that new girl, yo." Toad said. "Lucy or Laura or what ever. Ya know the one who calls herself Pollyanna or somethin'?

"Lorna. And it's Polaris." Pietro gritted his teeth, showing that he was not comfortable with this topic.

"Hey whatever, so why were you in there?" Fred wrinkled his nose. "I thought all of them except Tabitha liked the Popsicle boy."

"Yeah." Pietro shrugged absently. "I wanted to talk to Boom Boom."

"Oh." The other two frowned. It took the speedster a few moments to catch on to the way the boys had assumed his 'talking' meant.

"No we didn't do anything like that. Something's wrong with her." He commented quietly. "Something bad happened to her involving Crisp, Da Costa, and Guthrie. And I feel weird about the whole thing." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Maybe I'm just tired or whatever."

Toad and Blob exchanged confused glances. Toad bounded over and clapped a slimy hand over Pietro's brow. He beckoned their other roommate and touched his forehead as well.

Pietro opened one eye irritably. "Whata ya doin slimeball?"

"Well, the way I sees it, you gotta be sick, yo. Yer actually expressin' concern for anotha person who ain't yer daddy dearest or yer reflection in the mirror." Toad explained and frowned. "Yea, I ain't no doctor, Freddy, but he feels a bit warm don't he?"

"Git off!" Pietro pushed Toad away. "Ugh! Now I'm gonna smell like slime all week! Thanks a whole lot Toad! And nothing's wrong with me! I'm just worried about her alright? I mean, she used to live with us for crying out loud!"

Fred pondered for a second then broke into an eerie grin. "Nah he's alright Toad. Ya wanna know what's wrong with 'im?" He didn't wait for a verbal reaction. "If ya ask me, our liddle 'Tro is growin' up."

Toad gained an impish grin. "Ya don't mean...?"

"Yep. Sure do! Widdle Pietro has a crush!"

"ON BOOM BOOM!" Pietro cried, horror struck. "YA GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME!"

"Nope. You got it bad 'Tro." Fred kept a serious face as Toad broke into hysterical laughter. "Well I guess she is pretty and all."

"What! Me! Attracted to that crazy witch! You're both crazy!" Pietro gaped.

"Pie an' Tabby sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Toad hopped away from strangling reach. "First comes LOVE! Then comes MARRIAGE! Then Tabby's pushin' a-"

Suddenly a fist with an adamantium laced skeleton was holding Toad by throat. Logan snarled and pushed the amphibious boy against the wall. The two outer claws on that hand extended and trapped Toad's neck. The middle one extended just enough to make Todd Tolansky's eyes widen and his breathing stop. "Look frog breath. I am only gonna say this once. So listen up now. If you so much as think of finishing that sentence, I will not hesitate in extending this claw to full length. Then I'll gut you and hang yer insides over the mantle. Understood?"

Toad nodded his head about a millimeter and seconds later Logan snarled and released his hold. The boy sank to the floor trembling and terrified. He brought a hand to his neck and tried to get his breathing back to normal.

Logan growled. "Lights out. I don't want to hear a damned peep from this room until I see Slime bucket here in the DR at 4 sharp." All three boys gulped. The older man gruffly stormed to the door. "Oh and Maximoff, before ya say anythin' that was about her. Not you." He slammed the door and after his heavy footsteps faded, Toad made his way shakily back to his bed.

"What was that about, yo?" Toad swallowed hard.

"I don't know..." Pietro stared at the door intently. "Makes ya wonder what those creeps did that he gets so guard dog over her..."

Fred nodded and turned out the lights. "You two have early DR sessions. We should all get some sleep."

Pietro mumbled his gratitude and lay staring at the ceiling, curiously wondering what happened to Tabitha. To his annoyance, both his roommates were snickering and whispering in low tones for a while until they fell asleep.

Morning came abruptly upon the mansion. Rogue woke up with a start when Kitty's alarm clock/radio started playing some Hilary Duff song Rogue didn't know the title of, which was quite alright as she had no desire to.

"Pryde, turn that blasted thin' off!" She hollered and buried her head in her pillow.

Kitty yawned and sat up. "Like, good morning. Rise and Shine sleepy head." She giggled.

Rogue snarled. "Ah'll rise but Ah ain't shinin'."

"Oh, didn't you sleep well?" Kitty asked curiously, as she dangled her toes over the edge of her bed, turning off the clock.

"No." Rogue replied curtly as she rolled out of bed and headed to her dresser. "Fo' some reason, Ah had nightmares about gittin' married to someone Ah barely even know, all night." She sent a glare to her roommate.

Kitty giggled and grabbed her change of clothes and shower stuff and headed down to the bathroom. Rogue frowned and headed out the door with her stuff too.

"This whole damn mess is yar fault Kit." Rogue grumbled. "Ya an' Tabby. Mostly her. Stupid tape. No really its all his fault! Ah don' need this right now. Ah don' want a relationship! Ah ain't some prissy li'l dolly that needs a guy ta be happy." Rogue babbled as Kitty tried ignoring her. "Ah mean, do Ah look lahke some damn Barbie who needs a Ken? Ah like bein' an independent woman!"

"Uh Rogue..."

"Hush up Kit, anyway who does he think he is ta just up an' drop this in mah lap like its mah fault or mah problem?"

"Rogue...um there's, like, something I should-"

"Ah'm rantin' here Kit. What gave him the right to just pop up an' start doin' stuff lahke this ta me? Ah mean sho' he's got a nice body an' beautiful eyes an' a gorgeous accent but-"

"Bon matin filles." The Cajun himself approached the girls, his hair still wet from his morning shower after the DR session he had surprisingly had company for. "Now who de mos' magnifique femme in de worl' talkin' bout like dat, hm?"

"Kit," Rogue turned to her friend weakly and whispered so the other girl nearly had to read her lips. "Do meh a fava and phase me through a wall please?" She rose her voice and turned to him. "Wouldn't ya lahke ta know?" She smirked and ran a gloved forefinger under his chin as she stepped into the now vacant girls' bathroom.

Remy blinked in confusion. "Did Remy fall inta some ot'er d'mension, ou was it 'er?"

Tabitha, who had just stepped out of the bathroom, scowled. "What ever conversation I just missed was so obviously more important than blow drying my hair."

"She flirted! Wit' Remy!" He stared at the bathroom door in astonishment. He raised an awed hand to the place her gloved finger had touched his chin. "Unless dis is some kinda dream ou somet'in."

Without warning Tabitha reached over and pinched Remy's arm. Her nails were sharp and freshly manicured neon pink with black splatter lines. "Ow!" He yelped and pulled away. "What was dat fo'?"

"Guess its not a dream then." She remarked cheerfully.

"Dat hurt p'tie." He rubbed his arm. "An' y' sposed t' pinch y'self."

"Sorry." She shrugged sounding anything but. "So anyway Gambit, glad I ran into ya. We have a good hour until breakfast, lets get down to business shall we?"

"Works fo' Remy. Excuse-moi p'ti'e." He winked at Kitty and headed off after Tabby.

Kitty stood there utterly bewildered and vowed that as soon as Rogue came out of that bathroom she'd get a good talking to.

Tabby turned. "Where do you wanna go? We have rec. room, living room, kitchen, my room or yours. I figure since you want a low profile on this you don't want to be in a public view place so there's also roof, gazebo, or anywhere on the grounds I guess."

"Remy's room works Remy guess." He shrugged. She gestured for him to lead the way. Shortly they were up in the boys dormitories entering the room she had entered last night.

Piotr was at his easel silently painting. He nodded to acknowledge their presence and went back to concentrating on his brushstrokes. Lance was sitting on his bed basically just bobbing his head to the music from a headset. And Pyro was sprawled out in his bed, half strangled by sheets with one arm hanging off, and snoring.

Tabitha raised her eyebrow as she realized they weren't alone. Remy shrugged before she could ask. "Dey already know. An' Remy figured it'd be better fo' bot' our reputations if we had witnesses."

Tabitha blinked looking suddenly distant. "Yeah. Good idea."

Remy searched her face in mild confusion. "What de matter wit' y' p'tie?"

"Nothing...I'm fine. So...where do you want to start?"

He gave her a concerned look but continued. "What kin y' tell dis homme?"

Tabby grinned a Cheshire cat grin and dug into the bag she had brought to the showers this morning. From it she removed a well worn black diary. "What do you want to know about her?"

His eyes widened. "Remy non wanna read de fille's diary." He said hesitantly. "It don't feel right." Though she could tell he was obviously curious.

"Fine you don't have to. I can tell you a bunch anyway. For starters, she has a really messed up family life. And all the pushing away she does? She has her reasons, and they aren't limited to her powers. This puppy goes way back while she lived in Caldecott. Covers everything from her first chocolate ice cream cone to her first boyfriend up until well, the day before yesterday. I snatched it and had Jamie make a multiple of it." She grinned at him as he absorbed this information slowly. "And don't worry, I don't single anyone out, I get everyone's diaries this way. Eventually they just fade away so there's no trouble."

Remy laughed. "Y' pretty clever, kid. Don' tell nobody Remy said dis but y'd make a damn good t'ief."

She shrugged off the comment. "When you've been used in crime since before you could walk and talk by your own father, its something you hafta pick up. If you don't get good you get caught.

"Y' an' Remy could write a novel bout dat den." He reminisced. A dark look flashed through his eyes. "So, y' de boss...what Remy s'posed t' do?"

"Ah I knew you would ask that." She grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to ask Rogue out. As in on a date. As in ASAP. Like, after breakfast."

His eyes widened comically. "Ask 'er out?" His voice hit a high pitch. "But...She'd kill Remy! Or say non! Et que ferions-nous?"

"Gambit..." Tabby raised an eyebrow.

"Comment juste demandez-vous hors d'une fille que vous aimez plus que la terre et le ciel ? Et ce qui si elle dit le non?"

"Gambit! I don't speak French or Russian or Pig Latin or Japanese or whatever you're using!" Tabby frowned.

"What Remy gonna do? How does Remy do it?"

"Pardon?"

"How should Remy ask de fille out?" He averted his eyes as hers grew wide.

She laughed. "Are you serious? You? You need help asking a girl out? I thought you were our resident Cassanova, more experienced even than Pietro and me put together!"

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "Oui, an' Remy ain' denyin' it.But Remy never done de askin! Filles usually be linin' up at Remy's door. An' Rogue not like de ot'er filles."

Lance smirked from his perch on his bed. "Yeah. She doesn't fall for cheesy lines or suggestive double entendres."

"Rocky, shut up." Tabby rolled her eyes.

"Well he be right. De normal routines don' work an' Remy guess dat be a bon t'ing parce que Remy don' wanna hurt her."

Tabby nodded sagely. "Well young grasshopper you have much to learn and a short time to do so. There's just forty-five minutes until breakfast."

He chuckled and then gestured for her to get started.

"Ok. Number one, Rogue hates being treated fragile. She hates pity. Don't do it because if you do, you may never have the opportunity to parent children again. She has a nasty temper. That's a big thing. Stuff most people don't think about sets her off. Pushing physical boundaries and treating her weird are major no-nos. You following?"

He nodded and she continued. "Ok, believe it or not, she's a hopeless romantic. But she's not so into classics. Roses are nice but don't overdo it. Her favorite flowers are tulips. Dark purple. No mushy gushy crap, basically just avoid hallmark and fufu pink and cutesy stuff. If Kitty would like it, Rogue wouldn't."

Remy looked slightly overwhelmed but nodded anyway. Tabitha smiled. "Ok, now I'm gonna give you a list of what you have to do. Number one. Ask her out. After she says yes-"

"How d' y' know she'll say yes?"

Tabby gave him a 'duh!' look and continued. "Next you plan what you'll do. Let her pick the day. From that you base what you do. That decision will affect what you can do and what you want to do. For example a picnic would be fine on a warm Wednesday or Monday afternoon but a movie might be better if its a Friday or Saturday with rain or something. After that you can worry about what to wear. You want to look nice, but be comfortable at the same time. And don't worry, at this point she already said yes so she doesn't care how you dress. Now, fourth, finally, and most important you need to go buy a French to English dictionary at the nearest book store."

"What de dictionary fo'?" Remy asked puzzled.

"So I understand what you're saying when you go all French on me." She explained.

He nodded. "Ask her, pick what t' do, pick out clothes, get y' a dictionaire. Got it."

"Good, now lets head down to breakfast shall we? You need to know how you're gonna ask her."

Rogue still felt confused as she finished her shower. She had no idea what had possessed her to be so flirty. Her heart was all aflutter and weird emotions and sensations chased each other through her stomach. And what on Earth was up with the look on his face? He had flirted with her innumerable times. Okay so her response usually involved a sarcastic snappy comment or pushing him further away, but where in the rules did it say she wasn't allowed to flirt back.

"This proves it." She told her reflection in the mirror. "He don' really like me at all. Ah'm just a challenge: the only gal he can't sleep with. He wants ta break down mah mental barriers an' get his way wit' meh just fo' braggin' rights." She convinced herself and looked disgusted at the thought. "Well monsieur Remy LeBeau, that ain't happ'nin'." She got dressed and put on her make up and headed down to breakfast.

Down in the kitchen she took her normal seat next to Wanda and vaguely looked around at the other occupants of the table. Toad was there, drooling over Wanda with an idiotic grin on his face. Kurt and Bobby were cracking jokes. Kitty was concentrating on writing in a small pink notepad, occasionally asking Jean a question or two while the other woman clutched Scott's hand possessively and spent the majority of her time glaring at Emma Frost. Scott was oblivious to the mental sparks over his head and he continued reading the newspaper, unaware that his wife was on the verge of murdering Ms Frost who had for some reason decided that a tight low cut white leather corset and miniskirt was appropriate attire for appearing in public in. Lorna Dane was using her powers to make her silverware chase itself around her glass of orange juice while Amara and Jubilee shared the latest gossip.

Rogue's eyes then caught a sight that made her heart stop for a second. She didn't know why it would hurt her, but a weird squirmy feeling erupted in her stomach as she saw Remy talking with Tabitha. He'd say something and she laughed and shook her head. The blond gained a mysteriously impish gleam when she noticed Rogue looking.

She whispered something to Remy and then laughed softly at whatever his reaction was. He started turning his head but Tabitha tutted and snapped her fingers. Remy's head snapped back around as the blond shook her head as if to say no.

"Figures." Rogue spat to herself bitterly. "Ah bet she just set that whole thing up ta get me ta make a fool of mahself. An' Ah'll eat mah boots if that's gonna happen."

"What!" Wanda turned her head and gave Rogue a questioning glance.

"Hm? Oh nothing neva mind." Rogue blushed slightly, as she hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud.

"Talkin' to the voices again Rogue?" Wanda joked playfully.

"Yeah." Rogue answered as relief that could be read as embarrassment flushed her features. "Ya caught meh."

Wanda smiled and returned her attention to the jokes Pyro was giving her with an amused expression.

At that moment Storm announced breakfast was ready and was being served buffet style this morning. In the mad dash for food, Rogue's bitterness and resent were forgotten. Rogue made it back to her seat with a bowl of frosted mini wheats, a blueberry muffin and a couple slices of bacon. It wasn't that there hadn't been enough, but Rogue always ate hardly anything at breakfast. It wasn't a weight issue, as she had a relatively high metabolism.

She sat and moodily stirred her cereal around the bowl. Kitty took the opportunity to drop into the seat next to her with a plate heaped with healthy vegetarian foods and a perky 'I'm a morning person' smile. "Hey Rogue. Are you, like, okay?"

"Ah'm fahne." Rogue sighed.

"Uh huh, and like, a totally obvious liar. What's wrong?" Kitty frowned, puzzled, as she spread some strawberry jam on to a slice of toast.

"Nothin'." Rogue insisted but her eyes betrayed her by wandering down the table to where Remy and Tabitha were seated, whispering feverishly and forcefully, their food forgotten.

Kitty followed Rogue's gaze with an amused smile. "Well, that's, like, one hot nothing." She winked.

"Kitty, ya have a boyfriend." Rogue pointed out and nodded over towards Lance who was still patiently in line.

"Well, I can totally still look Rogue." She giggled. "Besides, he's like, totally hungover on you. Isn't it so sweet how he sings about you in the shower?"

"Ask Tabitha, she might appreciate it more than Ah would. After all its her stupid trick."

Kitty raised an eyebrow. "No, what about that tape?"

"Kit, sugah, ya way too naive. How hard do ya think it is ta edit a tape so it says what ya want it ta? Or how hard would it be if the damn swamp rat was in on the whole thin'? Ah'm not gonna let Smith set meh up fo' a huge embarrassment lahke that."

"But..."

"No buts Kit. The swamp rat don' like me. End o' story. Boom Boom is just tryin' ta pull a prank on meh. She prolly wants everyone forgettin' bout what happened with her, Berserker, Cannonball, an' Sunspot last week."

Kitty frowned. "I don't think so Rogue. Yeah she's upset, but I don't really see her as the kinda girl who'd do something like that...to another girl. She's a bit too playful sometimes but, like, she isn't mean and vicious like that."

"What eva ya say Kit." Rogue shook her head bitterly. "She's a lil playaette. Look how touchy feely they ah ova thay." Rogue rolled her eyes over to where Tabitha had one of Remy's hands clasped between both her own. "Let her have him. He's not mah type."

"And, like, what exactly is your "type"?" Kitty raised an eyebrow. Before Rogue could reply she continued. "Like, let me guess, tall, strong, serious, orders everyone around, gets a sadistic pleasure from making people get up at inexcusable hours for Danger room sessions, obsessed with redheaded telepaths?" Kitty smirked coyly.

Rogue choked and her eyes widened. "Shut up. Just shut up." She snapped.

"Look Rogue, he's like, married now. So its time for you to move on. Gambit's single and from what I hear he's so totally got the hots for you, girl!" Kitty giggled. "And besides, he's totally checking you out right now."

Rogue glowered and flipped him a rude hand gesture. "Fo'get this. Ah'm outta here. Anyone asks, Ah ran away, got it?" Rogue didn't wait for a reply before angrily pushing her food away and storming off. The room fell silent for a few moments before continuing its semi normal routine. After all, everyone was used to Rogue's sudden mood changes.

REWIND APPROX 45 MINUTES

Remy and Tabitha had been among the first down in the dining room. After Pyro had woken up abruptly during a nightmare that they were fairly certain involved a koala bear, waffles, and a fire hose, they decided they may as well head downstairs to avoid any incident or loss of sanity.

She continued giving him bits of advice about how to approach Rogue the right way and he began to look like he was drowning. Doubts and fears were tearing at his stomach from the inside. He was about to comment on them when Toad and Pietro had stumbled into the dining room. Both looked as though they'd just stepped from the showers and both were looking thoroughly exhausted.

"Ow!" Pietro winced, "I don't think that can be legal. That's gotta qualify as child abuse or somethin'." He rubbed his arm.

"What you complainin' bout, yo? I was in that hellhole longer than you." Toad groaned. "I'm startin' to think that we was better off in the Boarding house, yo."

"If my father was here we'd never have to put up with this crap." Pietro whined pathetically.

"Want some cheese with that whine, Pie?" Tabby called over. The two boys noticed her and Remy for the first time.

"Hey Gambit. Morning Tabby." Toad nodded, suddenly grinning evilly.

The two limped over to their chairs and dropped like string less puppets.

"What happened to you to?" She asked with her head tilted in semi amusement.

"Wolverine happened to us." Pietro grimaced. "Been in the Danger Room since five."

"Four for me." Toad spoke up. He'd dropped his head to the table and raised a hand up.

"All for being caught in my room?" Tabby wrinkled her nose as Pietro lay his head on his folded arms on the table.

"Mmhm." He nodded.

"Harsh. What'd you get busted for, Toad?"

"Teasin' Tro." The younger boy mumbled.

"Ohhh! What happened?" Tabby clapped her hands together in fiendish delight.

But neither of the former brotherhood boys responded. They couldn't as they were both fast asleep and breathing evenly and heavily.

Tabitha laughed and shook her head. "Logan musta worked them pretty hard." She mused.

"Ouais. Remy got excused from de usual early mornin' torture session because Wolvie had dese deux down there t' be 'is punchin' bags stead o' Remy for his pre mornin' workout." Remy looked relieved about this fact.

"Well they're out fast. Poor guys." Tabby smiled.

"Yeah po' Quickie 'n' Slimeboy." Remy rolled his eyes.

"Hey you know how it feels." Tabitha was quick to jump to her old housemate's defense crossly. "You should have pity for them."

Remy raised an eyebrow as she looked quickly at Pietro. "Speakin' o' de Speedbump, what was dat 'bout him gittin' in trouble cuz he got caught in yo' room las' night?"

"It wasn't what you're thinking." Tabitha assured him quickly. "I was upset and he was actually being really sweet for once. He was trying to make sure I was okay after what happened." She lowered her eyes shielding a smile. "We got into a pillow fight and Logan burst in and well Pietro got a five AM danger room sentence outta the deal."

Remy nodded. The gruff man would never admit it, but he was especially protective of the mansion's teenage girls. Somehow, over the course of time, Logan's war scarred heart had softened and he assumed the role of a mixture between an older brother, surrogate father figure, and uncle for the girls.

He was closest to Rogue, Kitty, and most recently and surprisingly Jubilee. However, since an incident last week that most of the kids knew nothing more than the vaguest details of, he'd been hyper sensitive when it came to Tabitha. All Remy himself knew was she'd ended up running out of the mansion in tears and Logan had gotten particularly nasty with Ray Crisp, Roberto Da Costa, and Sam Guthrie. It had taken hours to track the girl down and when she was returned she was different; less hyper and she seemed distant. She refused to tell anybody anything about it and most people tried to just forget it.

He was more curious than ever about what had happened, even to the point of using his empathy to force her to share but suddenly an angel walked in the dining room doors, joining the group that had been growing quickly.

Tabitha noticed his attention waning and turned expectantly. Rogue was slumping into a chair next to Wanda. She looked pretty cross and grumpy, but that wasn't really a change from the norm. Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"Gambit! Earth to Gambit!" She hissed.

He turned ruefully around in his chair.

"Could you at least pay attention to what I'm saying? You asked for my help so listen." She mock scolded. "Ok fine, next step, I need to ask you something. What do you see?" She gestured at Rogue.

"Remy see de mos' belle angèle Remy ever seen. Mais she's mad. Mos' likely at Remy. Mebe Remy ought t' not do dis. She deserve somebody better den a lowly t'ief."

She gave him a puzzled look. "What? Where's that fiery streak of self assuredness? What happened to the ego the size of the mighty Mississippi?"

"De fille don' even like Remy. Askin' her out won' help nuttin'. It'd only hurt her, an' dat de last t'in' dis homme wants fo' 'er. B'sides, she'd say non. Dere ain't no point in askin'."

Tabitha frowned. She didn't understand the Cajun's sudden insecurities. This was not like the Gambit she knew. This guy was meek and almost shy.

"Are you okay?"

"Remy fine. Remy be better den fine." He frowned. "Remy can't do it. Remy don' want t'. B'sides, y' made Remy promise not t' hurt her an dats what will happen if Remy does dis."

"What happened?" Tabitha demanded. "Something's wrong. You're supposed to be the resident skirt chaser along with Pietro. You're supposed to be 'easy'. This whole shy demented thing is not working for me."

"Remy woke up from de dream world." He mumbled seriously.

"Something happened to you, didn't it?" She accused as it dawned on her. "Something involving love. Or at least some kind of commitment."

His eyes grew wide before he could verbally defend himself, revealing the answer.

Tabitha's voice lowered. "I'm right. What happened? What put the fear of love in your heart?"

"P'tie, y' really don' wanna hear de story." Remy admitted in a defeated tone. "Le's jus' say dat Remy got some...issues wit his famille et wit...an ex."

Tabitha's eyes grew large. "Oh God, you got some girl pregnant or something didn't you!"

"Quoi?" Remy blinked in disbelief not knowing how she'd made that assumption.

"If not that then what do you have to be shy over?"

"Trust Remy when he say he been in mo' situations den any person ever should be."

"I know how that is." Tabby frowned. "My father had me in petty theft since before I could talk. And if I didn't do what he wanted..." She shuddered and subconsciously brought a hand up to her right ear which had a long and faint pink scar running behind it.

"Remy hears y'." He sighed and closed his eyes in reminiscence of his own personal history. "Remy hears y' louder den anyone else ever will."

Tabitha nodded. "But, it's the past and I'd rather not reopen those wounds." She whispered in a haunting voice.

"Oui, an' dose who don' learn from history be damned t' repeat it." Remy agreed cryptically. "Which explains why seniors in high school be in freshmen history classes, non?"

Tabitha laughed despite herself. "Yeah, I guess so." She noticed the set of narrowed emerald eyes focusing on her and Remy. "Don't look now but Roguey's practically spitting poison over here."

Remy slowly turned his head and Tabitha frowned. "Hey!" She snapped her fingers and he whirled his head back to face her. "I said don't look! Now she's gonna think we were talking about her!"

"But we are talkin bout her..." He said in confusion.

Tabby rolled her eyes.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"Yeah you better be." She grumbled. Ororo called that breakfast was ready and Remy gratefully slipped away to go get his food.

Tabitha rolled her eyes and followed quietly. She noted with a frown that Remy only took a bagel and a few strips of bacon.

"What's this? Some kind of crazy diet or something?" She remarked playfully as she loaded pancakes and eggs onto her plate.

"Remy not very hungry, petite." He sighed.

Tabitha frowned and the duo headed back to the table. "Gambit, what's wrong?"

"Nuttin." He said firmly.

"Uh huh, and Pyro is a pre-med student." Tabitha snorted and looked down the table to where the aforementioned guy was hanging a spoon on his nose and crossing his eyes to see it. "You gonna tell me what's running through your head?"

"Remy jus' t'inkin'." He dismissed her.

She gave him a look and he sighed. "Remy t'inkin' bout de past...y' eve' wonder if y' could change one t'in' bout y' past?"

"All the time." Tabitha grew serious. "There's a whole lot I wish I'd avoided." She mumbled.

"Ouais." Remy nodded. "But if Remy had de chance...he'd wipe one spot o' de past away fo'ever. All de mistakes, all de pain an' betrayal, none o' it would ever happen."

Tabitha's eyes grew watery. She took hold of Remy's hand. "It hurt you, didn't it? Whatever it was that put a sour spin on your view of love." It wasn't a question really it was a statement. He closed his eyes. She whispered. "I know what it's like."

"Dat ain't somethin' anyone should know." He leaned back. "Y' so young an' all."

"You aren't that much older than me." She scolded. "I can see from your eyes that you're carrying too much excess baggage too." She sighed.

"De deux o' us got a lot in common, non?" He chuckled dryly.

She frowned. "Don't bring that up. You know, if I didn't think you and Rogue were cut from the same cloth...You're alright Gambit. For a guy." She smiled weakly.

Suddenly a feminine cough snatched Remy's attention. His head whipped around in concern. He knew who it was before he saw her face, all flushed and embarrassed. Rogue retorted to Kitty's comment with a snapping remark and then she froze. For one beautiful moment the twin emeralds met with the rubies set in beds of onyx down the table. Remy's heart skipped a beat and leapt to his throat.

He smiled; it was fairly awkward and dare he say it almost shy but it was still a smile. Her features then went dark and she showed him a rather rude gesture. After growling a message to Kitty, the disgruntled Goth stormed off. The room was quiet for a moment or two but everybody returned to normal activity, apparently immune to shock when it came to Rogue's outbursts.

Before Remy realized what he was doing, he was on his feet and heading to the door. Tabitha was calling him an idiot and burying her face in her hands whilst laughing softly. Then he froze and sheepishly slowed. The Institute and grounds were huge and he had no idea where Rogue would go. As he hadn't heard the conversation he could hardly guess her emotion. She varied her seclusion places by mood and though he'd learnt them all by heart, there were a great many of them. He didn't want to waste time searching.

His years of training as a thief had honed his senses and he quickly realized that there was a set of eyes watching him curiously. He turned to Kitty and his expression brightened. Though the two girls were as different as chalk and cheese from most external viewpoints, the young and perky Kitty Pryde was his Rogue's best friend. If anybody would know her whereabouts it would be her. Well, Wanda would probably know but she'd be more difficult to receive the details from as she was known to be quite stubborn.

He slowed his pace and suavely moved to Kitty's side. "Bon Matin p'ti'e." He winked and she repressed a giggle.

"Like, hi."

"Remy was just wond'rin' why une jolie fille such as y'self be sittin' all alone on dis bon mornin."

Kitty giggled and rolled her eyes. Lance immediately gained the air of a cat who puffed up to protect its territory. "Rogue like, says she ran away."

Remy sighed and frowned. It was the cute puppy pout that nobody has the power to resist. Well, except for Kitty that is.

"Come off it Gambit. That's my face. I've mastered it and that makes me immune." She smiled sweetly. "And like, don't even try using your empathy charm thing."

"Fine. Where she go? Sil te plais tell Remy?"

"Like, why should I?"

Remy gave her a trapped and helpless look. Lance sighed and took pity. "Kit-Kat, give a guy a break. She'd tell me where you went if it was us instead of them."

Kitty fixed an intense look on the twenty year old former thief at her side. "There's, like, these rumors going around the girls' wing. Are they true?"

Remy's eyes widened. "Merde, all de girls know?"

Kitty giggled. "Well I totally heard 'em from Rogue who, like, heard it from Tabitha. Nobody else knows." She whispered.

Remy sighed and put a hand over his heart.

"Not like it isn't totally obvious though." Kitty continued despite his look of horror. "I mean, you've been like totally pining over her and everything." He groaned but she quickly reassured him. "No, it's not bad. I think its, like, the most totally sweet and romantic thing!" She gushed.

Lance chuckled at his roommate's expense while Remy looked skyward. "Why? Why did Remy come here when Bucket head disappeared? Remy was legal! Di'n' need a guardian. Why di'n' Remy jus' go back t' Louisiana? Ou just gone somewhere an' started clean?"

"Cuz, you're, like, a mutant and mutants are being all prosecuted and stuff. Oh and you're, like, totally obsessed with Rogue." Kitty giggled.

Remy sighed and pleaded with his eyes. "Oui, de rumor be true."

"Smart Gambit, you know you could have just agreed to something crazy right?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you check what she means?"

"Like, don't scare him Lance." Kitty admonished. "She's up in my room, well I guess its her room too. And Wanda's."

Then Kitty turned her attention to the legal notepad in front of her once more and Remy took it as his cue to leave.

He hurried up the stairs and into the girl's dorm wing. He glanced at the gold plated engraved plaques on the doors as he walked briskly past. Most of the doors were still open. He peered into the first room and knew immediately who it belonged to. Though Betsy Braddock and Emma Frost were both aristocratic classy telepaths, the two could hardly be any more different. Brittish born Psylocke's side was dark purple with black silk bedding and curtains. A dark cherry wood dresser was to the side and posters papered the walls. The other side of the room had a white canopy bed with lace curtains and a fur rug off the side of the bed. There was a vanity with the White Queen's initials in silver cursive over the mirror and an elegant lamp on the desk at that side of the room.

Remy shook his head and headed on, passing many doors and knowing the rooms' owners due to the name plates and contents. Finally he came to the end of the hall. On one side was an open door labeled, Rahne Sinclair and X-23. That was possibly the least decorated room as neither of the two young girls had seen the need to change much. The carpet was mossy green and the walls were a pale off white. There was a bed on either side of the room. One had 101 Dalmatians bedding and the other had a simple blue comforter pristinely tucked in. Other than a few tennis balls and chew toys littering the floor, the room was fairly tidy. A well stocked bookshelf per girl and two simple dressers finished the look nicely. But that was not the room the Cajun needed.

Remy turned and low and behold the door behind him was labeled: Wanda Maximoff, Katherine Pryde & Rogue. He knocked assertively.

"It ain' locked!" Rogue's voice called from within. He looked slightly shocked but he opened the door and entered. On the bed closest to the window, Rogue sat reading a thick book. She didn't look up to greet her visitor.

"Can Ah help ya?"

"Y' okay?"

She jolted upright. "Swamp Rat! What are you doin' here?" She glowered at the page in her book.

"Remy just wanted t' talk t' une jolie femme." He smiled.

"Well tell Remy he can just jump off a bridge. Can ya do that sugah?" She said in an acidly oversweet tone.

"What Remy do?" He asked bewildered.

"Firsta all, Remy got involved in Boom Boom's stupid prank." She slammed her book shut and glared. "Second of all Remy barged int' the girls' dormitories. And third of all, Remy is speakin' in third person an' downright drivin' meh insane!"

"'M sorry." He bowed his head. She stopped mid rant.

"What'd ya just say?"

"'M sorry, Chère. Didn' know y' di'n' like dat."

She blinked and looked at him in wonder. "Why were ya an' Tabitha tryin' ta prank meh? Is it funny? Lets feed the untouchable lies and then make 'er feel worse bout herself?"

"It wasn' a prank." Remy looked wounded. "Remy meant every word he said...Remy don' know why but Remy nuts bout y'." He sighed. "Dere be su'tin bout ya Rogue. Don' know what exactly...but it dere. Remy wanna know y' mo'. Remy wanna make sho' y' happy, an' be dere fo' y'." He took a deep breath and continued. "Remy wants t' be in yo' life. Remy wants t' date y', Chère."

"What!"

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**So yea this chap's ended. Next up is BID but it may take a while. So if you need something to sustain you go check out the story I am cowriting with Howlerdrode. Its in his account and its called End of the World. It is a tie in and sister story to BID though you don't necessarily need BID for it, I highly recommend it.**

**Now for those of you who don't know, my story 24 hours is begining to come to a close. My next project will be a parody. For your choices there are many lovely options. Most notably there is**

**Anastasia**

**Sweet Home Alabama**

**Beauty and the Beast**

**Aladdin**

**Grease**

**for a completer list see the reference in 24 Hours. Send in your vote. I'll do what you wanna read. So far Anastasia is in the lead with three votes and Sweet Home Alabama with two. Let me know this is a democracy (for now anyway...)**

**CNLOGAN-** Hm, sorry didn't catch your review in time but I'll consider taking the idea and modifying it for a little later. Thanks for reviewing!

**xmengirlzrule-** I fully agree with you but its necessary for the something that I shall be including in the story. Don't worry, the three goons will get theirs eventually. Hm, as for the romancy stuffs only time will tell. wink Thanks for reviewing.

**ishandahalf-** Yes continue I did and continue I shall. I just figured that it would be something Kitty would say. Sorry this wasn't so fast, but how fast do these bunnies of yours go anyway? Thanks for reviewing.

**Allimba-** LOL glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

**Chica De Los Ojos Cafe- **Glad you like it, thanks for the review.

**Katatonia-** Yeah its one of my odder little quirks but oh well. I'm glad you like it, thanks for the review.

**Sweety8587- **Sorry can't cite the quote. I have heard it though, and I fully agree. And I've been needing to quench my Tabbietro thirst as of late but not many people are writing it now. More and more do stuff with Crystal or X-23 and granted I like the latter of those too, Tabbietro's great too. Thanks for reviewing.

**Violet Aura**- Glad you like it; I love writing it. Thanks for reviewing.

**DemonicGambit- **Uh hehehe...Would you not like the story anymore if I told you that you essentially just outlined my plottish thing for this story? You'd be surprised at how many people are seeming to be all for the violent kill Pietro approach. I don't think that Wolvie has a Pietro gutting on his agenda at the moment but Pietro may push his luck later on. Thanks for reviewing.

**Black Cat of the Black Rose-**Uh sure...Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

**Howlerdrode-** You are right. Amazing how many people agree on that one. The terrible trio will get what's due them and their behavior will be rationalized at a later point and time. Thanks for the review.

**roguewannabe29- **Oh don't cry, here's the update. Glad ya like it, hope you enjoyed this chapter, thanki much for the review.

**Furry Elf-** Um sure...ok...thank you for reviewing.

**A Cute But Psycho Bunny-** Ok here's your update. Glad ya like it so much. You update your stuff now, kay? LOL Thanks for reviewing.

**Neige-** I'm glad you liked it so much. Nah I don't think desiring a happy ending is so wrong or abnormal. I personally like em. Thanki much for reviewing.

**Snickerdoodle-** Glad ya like it. Yea I'm trying to improve with experience. I daresay I make a lot less rookie errors now and I hope to continue to improve. Thank you for reviewing.

**elmo the cajun puppet- **Glad ya like it thanks for reviewing.

**_REVIEW!_**


	4. Unexplained after breakfast events

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Welcome to chapter four of Heart's Desires!

Ok I have been updating a lot more frequently since summer vacation started and I have a lot more time on my hands. I hope to fully finish 24 Hours very shortly and then begin my first parody, Anastasia. So Without further ado...

Disclaimer: I own Rogue's autograph! Along with Wolvie, Cyke, Storm, AND Captain America...but something tells me that isn't good enough for Mr. Stan Lee...

"Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good you must one hundred try." -- Claude Mermet

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Rogue stared at Remy with a thunderstruck look. "Ah beg yo' pardon?" She asked with incredulity.

"Remy wanna go out witcha". He explained, his ears burning, to his horror, with embarrassment.

"Look here Gambit, Ah ain' in the mood ta put up with yo' crap right now, alright?" She glared and crossed her arms.

"Non, Remy serious." He stated calmly. "Remy liked y' fo' a long time. An' if y' ain' busy Remy'd like t' catch a movie ou somet'in'."

Rogue rubbed her temples. "Gambit, please, Ah ain' in the mood for this. Why don' ya go an' harass one o' the other gals? Ah'm sho' Tabby'd appreciate ya company."

He was taken aback by the biting tone of her voice. "Remy don' understand why yo' so upset." He murmured carefully.

"Ah just don' wanna deal with ya an' her pokin' fun cuz Ah can' control mah powers." She snapped. "Y'all know Ah can' even touch. What's the point in datin' anyhow?"

"Chère, dere mo' t' relationships den touchin'." Remy frowned, his voice strained.

"That's rich comin' from the likes o' ya." She snarled. "Ya always been able ta touch an' ya powers are controllable."

"Fo' all y' know, yo's are two." He grumbled, his temper slipping. "Yo' just too scared o' yo' pow'rs t' try Rogue."

He knew the moment he spoke that it had been the wrong thing to say. Her face was livid. "Ya know whah Ah'm afraid o' mah powahs, Gambit?" She hissed, getting right into his face. "It's cause Ah don' wanna hurt anyone. Anyone touches mah skin, they at bare minimum pass out! Ya can talk all high an' mighty about it but ya don' even have a damned clue what its like!"

"On'y cause y' don' talk bout it t' Remy." He snapped back.

She narrowed her eyes. "Look LeBeau, ya don' hafta put up with hearing ya victims pained an' confused voices in yo' head do ya? Ya don' hafta stay away from people to make sure ya don' kill 'em do ya? An' on top o that ya make me sick!" She spat.

"Quoi!" Remy scowled. "What'd Remy do now?"

"Fo' one thin' ya severely pissin' me off. An' Ah know ya type. Ya come an pretend ya interested in meh but really ya only wanna sleep with me, add ma name ta ya lil black book, which all things considered bout ya, it must be the size o' the NYC phone book, an' then move on to the next gal who makes the mistake o' crossin' yo' path." She glared as she gathered her breath. "Ya have the ability ta touch an' ya flaunt it so much ya can' even seem ta get through ya thick skull that Ah'd sell ma soul fo' jus' haffa what ya take so for granted." Tears of frustration welled in her eyes.

"So, den dat'd be a non den?" Remy frowned sadly.

"Of course its a no," Rogue sighed, "Why ya makin' this so hard? Ah don' wanna play this game, it'll only end in everybody involved gettin' hurt."

"Chère, Remy not tryin' t' hurt y'. Remy'd never wan' dat. Remy likes y' a whole lot, Chère...mebe Remy even ...loves y'. An' 'e jus' wanna spend some time wit' y' t' get t' know de real you."

Rogue's eyes widened and she jumped back a bit. "Yah didn' just say..."

"Oui, mais 'sde trut'. Remy known it fo' a while now..." He smiled shyly as his ears burned brighter.

She shocked him by shaking her head. "Ya don' love me. Ya can' love me. Ya barely know me. An' its better fo' me an' ya that it stays that way." She said weekly, in an almost pleading voice.

"Remy can' help it. Yo' special t' Remy." He said softly, unable to look her in the eye.

"Look LeBeau, ya need a reality check. We ain' even known each otha very long. An' we're completely different people an' ya really can' love me."

"Why not?" He asked sadly. "Why won' y' give Remy a chance?"

"It ain' ya...well maybe it is, I don't know." She pondered in confusion. "It's complicated an' mah powas won't let me be the girlfriend ya wan'." She mumbled sadly.

"Why y' sayin dat?" He asked, hurt at the suggestion.

"Ya need a gal who can cuddle an' kiss, Remy. An Ah ain' exacly gonna be able ta make out anytime soon." She blushed a little.

"Remy don' care." He said simply.

"What?" She looked up sharply.

"Remy don' care. Dat ain' what it be about. Yo' an interestin' gal an' Remy wanna git t' know y'."

Rogue sighed. "Ya make it sound so easy, but Ah don' think Ah want a relationship right now. Everythin's crazy enough without anythin' else on the list."

She gave him an apologetic smile that didn't erase his sad frown. She sighed, slightly exasperated and picked up a false tone. "Well, just let me think on it fo' a while, kay?"

He scanned his memory of what Tabitha had told him and came up short. She had been under the presumption that Rogue would not hesitate to say yes.

"Sho' t'in." He pasted a cheery smile on his face. He felt like a deflated balloon. "Sorry Remy bot'ered y'." He gave an ironic salute and then bowed slightly before turning abruptly to leave.

She was floored. She had not expected him to back off so quickly. What was with him, this was not part of the hard to get game, she always played. He had actually respected her wishes? As he walked out she stood there with a confused expression before slumping to her bed.

Back down in the dining room, Tabby sat moodily poking her pancakes around on her plate. He had gone ahead and not followed her plan, or even heard it. She'd spent a good part of last night thinking up the exact way that would work best and had planned it down to the expression on his face. Now she had wasted a night for nothing. And she needed her sleep too. She sighed and pushed her plate away and rested her head on her arms.

Storm came over and sat by her. "Is everything alright, Tabitha? Do you not like pancakes? I can make something else if you wish."

Tabby looked up and smiled. "The food's great Ms. Monroe. It's not that. I'm just tired and frustrated, that's all."

"Oh? What is troubling you child?"

"Its Gambit." She sighed.

Storm blinked in surprise. "Oh, well he certainly can be difficult at times, but I would encourage you not to become involved with him, it would most certainly spell trouble. And I'd daresay you have quite enough to worry about without-"

"Oh no! You misunderstand." Tabby flushed with embarrassment. "It's not like that. I was helping him ask Rogue out and he completely made a mess of my Rogue-proof plan. He's so...pig headed."

Ororo laughed. "Yes that he certainly is. And he is very intrigued with our young Rogue. So you are helping him along?"

"Trying to. But he's making it difficult." Tabby sighed again. She stared at the pancakes angrily as if it was their fault.

"Relax. And eat something. It'll help." She pushed the plate near the girl again.

"Thanks but no thanks Storm." Tabby shook her head. "Can't. I'm not that hungry."

"Don't be ridiculous, child." Storm smiled and placed a comforting hand on her back. "You really should eat."

"I know." Tabby sighed and groaned. "I know."

Storm smiled once again. "It'll turn out alright. You'll see. But for now, just worry about eating your breakfast before it gets too cold."

The blond nodded and picked up her fork as the older woman walked away. To Tabitha's side, a set of sleepy blue eyes peered curiously at her. She didn't seem to notice until Pietro spoke up.

"What-was-that-about?"

She emitted a squeak of surprise and jumped about a foot before turning to him. "Are you _trying_ to give me a freaking heart attack!"

He sat up fully and smirked. "No."

"Then don't do that." She grumbled crossly. He sat up at the table and tilted his head to the side.

"Why-was-she-insisting-you-eat? That-doesn't-seem-like-a normal-request-from- Storm." He accused.

"Mind your own business!" She snapped testily.

"Hey-excuse-me-for-caring!" He snapped back.

"Don't get me started Pietro." She warned. "I'm not in a dealing-with-you mood right now." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Fine." He crossed his arms and stood up. "See-if-I-care." He stomped off to go see if any food was left in the kitchen.

Tabitha groaned as he came back with a plate heaped high with food. "You cannot possibly eat that much food."

"High-metabolism." He shrugged. He sat back down beside her and winked. "Gotta-have-a-lot-of-energy-to-be-as-fast-as-I-am."

She blushed and fought a giggle. "Yeah, I'm so sure."

Then he proceeded to begin wolfing down his breakfast at breakneck speed.

"Uck, I'm gonna be sick watching that." Tabitha looked away, actually looking very nauseous.

"Sowwy" He murmured through his last mouthful a few moments later. She looked more than slightly revolted. He gulped down and smiled semi-apologetically. "Sorry."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "That was very gross."

"Can't-help-it." He shrugged. "That's-just-how-I-am."

"I'm gonna puke." She informed him and covered her mouth.

Pietro paled and backed up. "Boom Boom? You're-starting-to-scare-me..." He began panicking as she looked ready to live up to her promise. "Oh-come-on,-don't!" He scrambled out of his seat and grabbed her. He dragged her towards the bathroom using his super speed. She stumbled in and wretched into the sink without bothering to close the door. She looked so pathetic it hurt Pietro to watch. So he turned away. After a few moments, she turned on the sink and washed up. She grimaced and brushed her teeth furiously. She stepped out and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry...Bleck that was gross."

"You're-telling-me?" He tried to joke. But the part of his heart he had been previously unaware of went out to how miserable she looked.

"I told her I didn't want to eat." She tried explaining.

"No-I-shouldn't-have-scarfed-my-breakfast-like-a-starved-animal." He apologized gently, unable to convince himself it wasn't his fault.

She sighed and smiled sadly. "As much as I would love to blame this on you, I can't." She looked away. "Really this one's not on you." Her eyes gained a glazed far away look. She shook herself back to reality enough to smile ruefully. "Thanks. For getting me over here." She turned to go head up to her room.

"Where-do-you-think-you're-going!" Pietro cut her off.

"Up to my room to sleep?" She tried hopefully to step around him.

"I-don't-think-so. You're-sick!" He accused. "You-need-to-see-McCoy."

"No I don't." She argued. "Look its not contagious or anything, so don't worry about it. Besides, there's nothing the doc can do about it."

"Bull." Pietro snapped. "Somethin's-wrong."

"I'll be fine after I just rest for a little!" She growled. She rudely pushed past him. "Leave me alone!" She stormed off but didn't get terribly far.

He grabbed her by the right arm. "No-you-can't-just-pretend-you're-fine! We-both-know-you-aren't!"

She turned to face him, a furious fire in her blue eyes. "Let me go Pietro."

He refused and gently tried to lead her in the direction of the med lab. She stopped short and snapped at him. "I mean it!"

He ignored her and continued. He thought he had her helpless. But he was wrong. Tabitha was left handed. And it was with that hand that she dealt him a sharp slap across the face.

He swore and released her to bring his hand to his face. Their eyes met, both quivering with fury.

"What-the-Hell's-your-major-maladjustment?" He glowered as he felt a warm sticky liquid greet his fingers. Her nails had nicked his cheek and he didn't know which stung more; the tiny cuts, the slap itself, his pride on having been slapped by a girl, or his conscience about having upset her so bad that she had to.

"Just leave me alone!" Her eyes had filled with angry tears. "Don't touch me! And mind your own damn business!" She turned and dashed away before he could respond.

He stood for a moment in the hallway, bewildered, until a drop of warm thick liquid blood slid down his cheek like a tear. Then he determined that he needed to see the doctor himself.

In the med bay, Mr. McCoy was playing solitaire on his computer in the lab. He barely heard Pietro enter and jumped considerably when he cleared his throat to announce his presence.

"Oh my stars and Garters! You mustn't do that!" He took a deep breath.

"Yeah, yeah, so-I've-been-told." Pietro smirked sardonically.

"What can I do for you this morning, young Mr. Maximoff?" McCoy asked gently as he closed out his game and turned to face the young mutant.

Instantly his face fell. "Gracious, what on earth happened to you?" His eyes remained fixed on the bleeding nicks on the boy's face.

Pietro shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Got-inta-a-fight-with-Logan's-psycho-clone?" He tried innocently.

"I shall have to speak to that girl." Hank shook his head. "She's done nothing but cause fights and injury since she got here."

"Wait, no-its-not-her." Pietro admitted. "Actually-this-is-from-Boom Boom." He grinned sheepishly.

"Is that so? How on earth did that happen?" Beast asked pleasantly.

"Well-we-were-eating-breakfast-and-then-she-looked-really-sick-so-I-dragged-her-to-the-the-bathroom-and-she-threw-up. So-I-told-her-that-she-needed-to-come-see-you-but-she-refused-so-I-tried-to-make-her-and-she-smacked-me-and-boy-are-her-nails-long!"

The fuzzy mutant allowed that to sink in for a moment then smiled ruefully. "Ah yes, she does have quite a temper doesn't she?" He shook his head and loped over to the medicine cabinet and returned with gauze, hydrogen peroxide, and a box of bandages. "Well, we'd better clean that cut out so infection doesn't set in. If you don't mind," the doctor gestured to the examination table.

Pietro awkwardly climbed up and sat on it, feeling vaguely like a small child, awaiting something unpleasant.

"This may sting a bit." The doctor warned, wetting a gauze pad with the hydrogen peroxide.

Pietro gave him an insolent look. Yet he jumped at the sting of the cold liquid against his face. "OW!" He pulled away scowling like a perturbed six year old.

"I did, in fact, warn you." McCoy chuckled jubilantly and thoroughly cleaned the cut.

"I-hate-you." Pietro glowered.

The doctor finished with no indications of hearing the mutant teen. "There now, that wasn't so terrible was it?" He did not bother to look at the scathing expression on Pietro's face. "I'm afraid we are running short on bandages." He apologized. "Jamie, Bobby, and Lorna were the ones who picked what we have, and there isn't much variety. I regrettably only have Barbie, My Little Pony, Power Rangers, and dinosaurs to offer."

Pietro blinked in revulsion. None of them was his ideal choice to wear in display in public let alone on his face. He shuddered at how ridiculous he would look and decided that Power Rangers wouldn't be awful.

"Oh my mistake." Beast peered into the box. "We're out of the Power Ranger ones." His eyes sparkled with mirth. "And I would presume that you would not like a Barbie or Pony across your visage."

Pietro sighed and nodded. Which left multicolored dines. He told the doctor to randomly pick one since he didn't care. The end result was a bright blue dinosaur with orange spines and purple spots on a lime green bandage across the side of his face.

"Thanks." Pietro mumbled in resign. "Hey-Doc, can-you-help-the-mentally-ill?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Oh, has the stress of this world's daily occurrences been weighing too heavily upon you as well?"

"No! Well, yes, but-that's-not-why-I'm-asking. It's-Boom-Boom. I-think- something-is-wrong-with-her. In-the-few-minutes-I-was-with-her, her-emotions-were- everywhere. Is-she-bipolar-or-manic-depressive-or-something?"

"Mr. Maximoff, I assure you that while she is not, if she were it would not be my place to tell you that. Doctor-patient confidentiality, you know."

"So-then-do-you-know-what's-up-with-her?" He asked trying to hide the curiosity in his voice. "Cause, if-she-does-have-a-problem, I-don't-think-she-should-be-allowed-to-wander-the-halls-and-hit-whoever-she-pleases."

The blue mutant stiffened, indicating that he did know what was wrong. "I am sorry, but it is not for me to tell. Good day."

"That's-what-everyone's-saying!" Pietro groaned. "Does-it-have-somethin'-to-do-with-whatever-Guthrie-and-those-other-goons-did-to-her?"

The doctor froze in the process of starting a game of minesweeper.

"It-does-doesn't-it?" Pietro smirked, knowing he now had a partial clue. "That's- why-she's-been-acting-so-weird, isn't-it?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you what you want to know." The doctor informed him briskly. "This matter does not concern you or anybody else, at the moment. Ms. Smith wishes it to stay as her own personal matter."

He turned his back to the young speedster who walked out of the infirmary shaking his head.

Figuring that maybe he ought to go talk to Tabitha herself and maybe even step out of character completely and perhaps apologize to the blond. He figured that he would at least figure out why everyone was treating her so fragile and why Guthrie and the other two goons were being such imbeciles.

With a careful glance around he sped up to the girls dormitories. He cursed under his breath upon finding a lock on the door he wanted to enter. So he decided to play along and knocked.

"Go away." Tabitha's muffled voice called from behind it.

Pietro rolled his eyes and pulled a paper clip out of his pocket. He bent it and tried to pick the lock. To his immediate surprise a mild shock raced up his arm. He stared dumbly at it for a moment.

"I'm not stupid you know!" Tabitha called. "I pick locks myself! You think I'd let anyone pick mine? Hah!"

Pietro's eyes narrowed and he kicked her door in frustration. "Tabitha! Let-me-in!" He whined.

"Oh its you!" She growled. "Get lost Pietro! Go ruin somebody else's life, why don't you?"

He growled and stomped off, very frustrated. He was not used to anybody turning him down for anything, least of all girls. And to add insult to injury, he was actually being civil out of sincerity and not merely a desire to sleep with her. All in all this left him confused and mildly irritated with Tabitha. Had she not, just last night, been extremely close to kissing him? Why hadn't she gotten all snippy then?

He decided to go resign to his room, well the room he shared with Toad, and Blob, at the very least. Toad was probably still snoring and Fred was probably still chowing down in the dining room, so at least he'd have some alone time. Maybe if he started at his ceiling long enough the answers to his questions would find him. Or maybe he'd figure out the meaning of life, which at this point seemed easier to understand.

As he passed through the corridor he heard several heated voices. His curiosity got the better of him as he realized that the 3 hostile voices were coming from The room labeled Raymond Crisp, Roberto DaCosta, and Samuel Guthrie. He hovered near the door trying to catch what they were saying.

"How long you think it'll be 'til LeBeau finds out her little secret and dumps her?"

"Ah bet he won' care. Ah mean, he ain' exactly much better'n she is, is he?" Sam's Kentucky drawl had an icy tone to it.

"Nah, he's probably been with more people than she's ever even met." Roberto's lightly accented voice snickered.

Pietro frowned. They were talking about Gambit and a girl. The only girl he could think of in conjunction with him was Rogue, for even though she heavily denied all attraction, she never was that great at lying.

"Well, I'm sure Gambit has more skeletons in his closet than could fit in a haunted house but it isn't like his new little whore's any better." Ray laughed bitterly.

A red hot anger swept through his stomach. How could they refer to Rogue-or any girl like that! Well, he could see the exception in several of the girls he'd dated but still! Rogue was his friend, well sorta. And he'd known her for a while. She definitely wasn't what they were calling her!

"Ah know." Sam agreed. "Like how she leads people on an' all. An' all her lies'll keep mountin'. It's 'bout time that one fahnally caught up with her."

"Yeah." Roberto's voice was cruel. "It's no less than she deserves. Is it too much to hope that Xavier and them will just toss her out?"

"Yes." Ray scowled. "Xavier already knows. She went to Storm first and then told Xavier and Wolverine."

"Don' remahnd meh..." Sam groaned and closed his eyes. "We'll all have late naht danger room sims foreva. Ah thought Logan was gonna kill us. Ah ain' neva seen somebody so pissed off!"

"Don't know why the Hell he's so mad at us." Roberto skulked. "I mean yeah, we got mad at her, but who wouldn't?"

The two others agreed. Then Sam piped up. "Do ya think it's really true, though? Ah mean, is ona us?.." He let the question hang and neither of his roommates said anything.

Pietro's curiousity was aching him to barge in and ask for clarification. But he felt they'd definitely be less than cooperative, so he remained outside.

"Man, Sam, don't even think that way." Ray grumbled tightly. "She's a no good lying sneak, and don't you forget it."

"Ah know, it's just...Ah don' feel right. What if she was tellin' the truth?" Sam's voice was laced with regret.

"How could she be? She lied about everything else, didn't she?" Roberto sounded agitated, as if they'd been over this a hundred times before.

"Ah know, but Ah'll feel awful if'n she wasn' lyin' this time." Sam sighed.

"Look don't even worry." Ray reassured him. "If it is true, well she was with a billion guys. There's no way to point fingers."

"Not true. These days-"

"Shut up!" Ray scolded and jumped up. He strode over to the door and threw it open with a scowl. "What do YOU want, Maximoff!"

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Well that's a wrap for this chapter. I know that nobody's thrilled with the whole cliffhanger thing but that's just how it works out, I guess. Don't worry, I know Rogue pretty much turned Remy down but remember she is kinda suspicious that its a joke. Next chapter Romyness will make a comeback. And as for what happened to Tabby, well I think there were enough hints to string it together. And before anyone tries assassinating the authoress here, I'll have you know I'm working off a story line from the comics...at least I think. I saw it along time ago and now I can't find the page I saw it on. So the result is I only know who it involved and the basics of what happened but I'm taking it into my own hands. If you know the story, then you also know that I just threw Ray in because I could. Alright so yes, now you have my full and complete permission and encouragement to review!

BTW, I have a semi complete list of what I'll be doing on my profile page. If you're interested, check it out...

Dis Chick Digs De Fuzzy Dude-Yeah I do pity them, but Remy's so adorable when he's clueless. And the way I see it, he's always been big on the one night stand department and making girls come to him, so I imagine he'd be pretty clueless when his usual tactics don't work and HE's the one begging for commitment. Yes I share your opinion on Hilary Duff, she is all that and more...Thanks for the parody ideas I'll definitely be doing most of them. Wow I would laugh myself stupid to see Pyro as a lawyer...Anywho thanks for the review! HEY I RHYMED!

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Sweety8587-That would have been a good idea but didn't work out for now. Maybe later though, sound okay? Glad you liked it, thank you for reviewing.

enchantedlight-Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing.

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silverbells-Yeah I realized my mistake when I made this a continuing story. As a oneshot it worked all fine and dandy. Well it is crowded, but lets just say the residents who've been there longer don't have to share so much, does that work? Uck I am so glad school's out for the summer vacation. I will definitely be doing Sweet Home Alabama second on the list of parodies and things to start, I love the idea of it.

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Rogue gaL- Aw thanks for the compliments! Yep I fully understand what you mean. Hope you like the chapter, and don't worry there will be loads of Romyness upcoming, but as you said, she isn't entirely sure of her own feelings yet. Thanks for reviewing!

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therussieringleader- Ok Grease is on the plan but I don't know when, as I need to find a script for it, or a copy online to work with. Anastasia's up first and testing the waters of my parodying ability. Yeah I can fully understand working a job with psycho hours. I baby-sit and am on call whenever. Also I have to balance working at the dog pound and doing my grandmother's yard work in the mix two, not to mention I'm the shoulder for all my friends (and even a few people I barely know) to use as a makeshift psychologist whenever something goes wrong. And I'm a student so there's chaotic hours to start with, I guess.

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zahraa-I'm glad you liked it so much. Forget about it, me! Never happenin'. Thanks for the review!

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chicita-LOL Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing.

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MagCat-Don't worry, all will be explained in due time. Have you begun to figure it out yet? Well next chapter's a tell all...or at least tell a lot...Thank you for reviewing!

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thegambit23-Ok maybe it was a cruel ending...thank you for reviewing!

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Crazed Fuzzle- First off I absolutely adore your name. I call my cat my fuzzle. Second thank you for all of your praise. I think Tabby's a much deeper character than most people give her credit for. I think its about time somebody gives her the spotlight she deserves. Thanks for reviewing.

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ishandahalf- Yeah, so I've been told. And yeah, I figure Rogue as the suspicious type. And do you honestly blame her? Yup Belle's stuck in his head, but it isn't his fault, I mean he was supposed to spend forever with that...evil blond...thing. I'd get a bit cranky too, personally. Oh she'll be appearing and it'll shock everyone's socks off if I play my cards right. Yeah a sad Remy's sad but it'll play the two of them like putty into my hands. And that's what I need. Thanks for reviewing!

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Rogue14- I'm glad you love it so much. Uck exams bite, don't they? Thanks for reviewing!

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black cat of the black rose-Ok...thanks for reviewing?

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howlerdrode-My my it does seem that way, doesn't it? Yeah Funny things like that can happen, especially to someone who plays with love all the time and thinks they understand it and are manipulating it until they fall prey to the most severe of it's symptoms. Yah but honestly, can he be blamed? I mean that kinda thing would be pretty damaging to anyone, wouldn't it? Glad to hear you don't think this one's overly sweet and yep BID's up for next update again. Thanks for reviewing!

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Rogue14- K, thanks

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Cat2fat900- Well you should be able to guess part of it, now but I can picture him getting upset. It happened in the comics and things got mean. Well next chapter all will be revealed. Thanks for the review!

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Romy4ever!- I agree with what your name says, and thanks for the tip. I changed my profile, thanks for reviewin!

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NaijaStrawberrie- Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

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RogueAndGambit- Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

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FluidDegree- I know it was an evil ending but have faith for I have updated. Thanks for reviewing!

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EE's Skysong- Eh it's ok. Dumb song lyric thing. That really bothers me but I guess I'll survive. Don't we all have times where we don't review what we read? LOL yea I liked that part too, thanks for reviewing!

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el diablo- Well, you should have a few basic hints, but next chapter is the revealer as to what happened. LOL sure, I'll take two votes. Anastasia's up first (I'm currently writing the script) and I have every plan of getting to Grease...eventually. Thanks for reviewing

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July 5, 2005


	5. Tabby's Secret

Hi its me again. Ok, I did some research and yes part of the idea I'm using was from a Tabby timeline. I added a bit to it for flavor but I can promise this will be one heck of an epic adventure. Oh and I know I said Romyness would happen in this chapter but there was a change of plans that will make the story better. It will happen eventually but not just yet. This story will be an emotional roller coaster so I warn those who be faint of heart to fasten your seat belts and hang onto the lap bar in front of you at all times.

Disclaimer: Not yet, though you never know. I hear if you wish upon a star it makes no difference who you are anything your heart desires will come true. So...I'll be stargazing.

" Life is like photography. You use the negative to develop."

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Pietro smirked. "Ah, Berserker, thought I heard your yell."

Ray and the others breathed in relief. "Just blowing off steam, you know how it is." Ray nodded. He knew Pietro's reputation and figured he wouldn't say anything.

"Yeah-I-figured." Pietro agreed. "I-was-just-gonna-go-grab-something-from-my- room-when-I-heard-you-three-yelling." He lied easily.

"We were just ranting about one of the problems with the institute." Roberto smirked, gesturing for Pietro to enter and join them by nodding at an empty chair.

Pietro zipped in, knowing they obviously trusted him enough to not have fried him to oblivion by now. He figured this method would get him information quickest.

"So who got on your badside?" He asked lazily.

"Funny you should ask, she used to live with you." Sam scowled.

Pietro sat up, his suspicion seemingly validated. "What'd she do now?"

"She played us all like fools." Sam grumbled bitterly.

"But on the other side, her whorish ways finally caught her and landed her in trouble." Roberto chuckled sounding way too amused by the fact.

"Oh?" Pietro raised an eyebrow, hiding his curiousity.

"Yeah. She came in here bout a week ago ta inform us that she's late." Sam leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes as if in pain. "Three weeks late."

Pietro's eyes widened. "And it gets better." Ray snorted. "The little bitch had the nerve to come in here and say its one of ours."

Roberto huffed. "She's lying. She is not late. She's just trying to mess with our heads." He smirked. "Besides, even if she was, by some miracle not lying, which I highly doubt, there is not a chance in hell its any of us. She's been sleeping around with everyone for a while now."

Pietro raised an eyebrow at how Roberto was laughing something like this off. And he took note of how Ray seemed pretty much nonchalant. Then he noticed that Sam really seemed distraught.

"What's-with-him?"

Ray shrugged. "He's taking it pretty hard because they'd been dating. Nobody was supposed to know because they had two different reputations to hold up. Naively he assumed she'd never cheat on him."

Pietro let out a whistle. "Ouch. That's-gotta-hurt."

"Yeah probably, but hey." Roberto chuckled. "That's what happens when you commit to one chick, eh Maximoff?" He winked.

Pietro felt sick suddenly. He knew just a little while ago, he'd have happily agreed and been as crude and vulgar about any girl as Roberto and Ray were being. He didn't understand the sudden change but he realized that hearing them disgusted him.

"Yeah," He pasted a smirk on his face. It fell quickly. "I-gotta-go-get-ready-for-a-danger-room-sim." He lied.

"What'd you do?" Ray asked.

"Ah, you-know-the-drill." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Do-your-chores, Don't-annoy-Summers, Stay-outta-the-girls'-Dorms." He smirked impishly. "I-never-was-one-to-follow-the-rules."

Roberto snickered. "Way to go."

Sam frowned and sighed.

Pietro shrugged then headed out. "Catch-ya-later."

He zoomed down the hall, mildly disbelieving that his lie had fooled the 3 goons. Instead of heading to his own room, he zoomed back to the girls' dorms. He never had been big on rules.

He barged into the room he was seeking with an accusatory look on his face. "What-the-Hell-were-you-thinking!"

Rogue jumped about a mile and dropped her book. "Pietro! Ya eva' hear of this novel thing called knockin'?" She fixed a glare on him. "Ya gonna give someone a heart attack!"

He glowered at her. "Why-in-the-world-would-you-go-and-do-something-like-that!"

"Somethin' like...what?" Rogue asked in confusion.

"You-know-very-well-what-I-mean!" He accused. "If-you-heard-the-things-Crisp-Dacosta-and-Guthrie-were-saying-about-you..."

Her eyes widened. "They're already on the gossip chain? Crap!"

"Well-this-is-kinda-big-Rogue!" Pietro rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why'd-you-do-it!"

"Ah...Ah wasn' ready fo' commitment..." She stammered. "Ah didn' think it'd be fair ta string 'im along like Ah was-"

"Well, great-going-he's-pretty-devastated-about-it." Pietro snapped. "He's-all-playin-the-silent-but-devastated-hero. He-looked-ready-to-cry-when-I-saw-him."

"He was really that upset?" Rogue tilted her head to the side. She sighed. "Ah spose Ah better go an' talk ta him."

"That-probably-won't-help-at-this-point." Pietro pointed out. "His-roommates-may-kill-you. They-weren't-sounding-thrilled-with-you."

"Really? Wow, this whole thing has really blown outta proportions." Rogue frowned.

"Duh." Pietro gave a scathing glare. "But...Don't-go-do-anything-crazy...I-wouldn't-want-anything-to-go-wrong-or-something." He eyed her midriff warily.

She noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Are ya alright, Pietro?"

"Oh-I'm-fine. It's-you-I'm-worried-about." He looked warily at her.

"Ya scarin' me Quicksilver." She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Ya actin' crazy. What's gotten inta ya?"

"The-real-issue-here-is-why-you-allowed-what-got-into-you-to-get-in-in-the-first-place!" He frowned. "It's-completely-uncharacteristic-of-you!"

"Pietro, ya ain' makin' any sense!" She sighed in frustration.

"Me!" He gaped. "How-can-YOU-of-all-people-say-that! I-mean-almost-anybody-else, I'd-accept-it, but-you-aren't-like-that-do-you-know-that-your-whole-life-is-now-ruined!"

"Pietro, what are ya goin' on about?" Rogue asked cautiously. "All Ah did was tell 'im Ah ain' ready ta deal with a relationship right now..."

"Nice-way-of-doing-it! I-suppose-those-other-two-were-just-to-enjoy-the-effect?"

Rogue looked confused. "What are ya talkin' about? Ya completely lost me..."

"And-how-long-have-you-had-control-of-your-powers-anyway!"

"What?" She blanched. He realized immediately that he'd struck a nerve.

"What-am-I-not-supposed-to-know? Or-do-you-think-I'm-that-stupid?" He raised an eyebrow. "Kinda-easy-to-put-two-and-two-together, Rogue."

Cold fury seethed from Rogue. "Ah don' know who put ya up ta this. An' Ah don' know who fed ya that lie. Frankly ya ain' makin' any sense, Quicksilver. An' ya really startin' ta get on mah last nerve." She gave a warning tone.

"Ok-so-you-don't-have-control. Still-doesn't-explain-that!" He gestured to her stomach.

"What the Hell ya goin' on about Maximoff?"

"That...that...incident-with-Cannonball-Sunspot-and-Berserker!" He flushed. "The-mistake-that-made-you-a-mother-and-a-cheap...tool-that-belongs-in-the-shed-next-to-the-rake-and-the-shovel-at-the-same-time!" He snapped, unable to utter the word the others had used.

Her jaw dropped for about a second before her eyes blazed in green fury. She fixed a glare on him before kicking him hard in the stomach. He fell back with a pained 'oomph'.

"What the Hell put that idea inta ya head ya spastic moron! Ah can' even touch let alone get pregnant! Take back what ya said or next tahme ma aim won' be fo' ya stomach!" She growled.

He groaned and tried to glare back but he was seeing stars from the hit. "Why'd-you-agree-with-me-then?"

"Obviously Ah thought ya were talkin' about somethin' else, Maximoff." She snapped. "Now take back what ya said!"

"Sorry!" He squeaked nervously and scurried back as far as the wall would let him go. "I-misunderstood-Please-don't-kill-me!" He pleaded, fear shining bright in his eyes.

She growled and let him up. "Ya got ten seconds 'fore ya dead meat."

"Ok-so-I-heard-Cannonball-and-the-other-two-goons-complaining-about-somebody-and-they-invited-me-in-and-told-me-at-least-part-of-the-story-about-a-gilr-I-used-t-live-with-and-all-the-signs-led-up-to-it-being-you-so-I-assumed-they-were-talking-about-you-don't-be-mad-please?" He cringed as if expecting her to beat him senseless.

"See what assumin' does?" She smirked.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Makes an ass outta you an' me." She frowned. "Neva, Eva, unda any circumstance, call meh or any gal that again, an' maybe Ah'll let ya live."

He nodded shakily. "So-if-they-weren't-talking-about-you..." Pietro broke off in confusion.

"Well, they weren'." Rogue glowered crossly. "Ya could prolly ask Tabitha. She's prolly the authority on what's goin' on in everyone's social life."

"Oh-my-gosh!" He clapped a hand to his mouth as the truth clicked. Rogue figured it out just seconds behind him. "She-can't-be..."

"Don' jump ta anotha conclusion, Pietro." Rogue warned. "Those boys could jus' be rat'lin' ya chain."

"Rogue! Get-the-picture-they-were-talking-about-one-of-three-girls. My-sister-'s-hooked-on-Toad-of-all-people." He crinkled his nose indisgust at the name. "And-as-you-so-politely-told-me-it-couldn't-possibly-be-you. There's-only-one-other-girl-I-lived-with."

"Don't assume anythin'." Rogue warned. "They could just be makin' it up."

"Rogue-think-for-a-moment-they've-been-giving-her-a-hard-time-and-all-it-has-to-be-true."

Rogue glowered and picked him up by the collar of his shirt. She forcefully threw him into the hall, disregarding the sickening crunch and thud when he hit the wall of the coridor. "An' next time ya come in here, Ah'll call Logan up ta deal with ya."

He groaned as she slammed the door. He rolled onto his back and put his hands on his face gingerly. Unlike when Tabitha's long nails had grazed his cheek, the blood was a lot thicker and free flowing. He guessed his nose was objecting to being slammed straight into a wall.

He dizzily climbed to his feet and sighed as he headed in the general direction of the hospital wing for the second time this morning. He entered and Dr. McCoy looked up from his game.

"What happened, this time?" He seemed shocked. "Another dispute with Tabitha?"

"No." Pietro grumbled. "Rogue threw me into a wall."

"My, you certainly seem to be quite popular with the ladies this morning Mr. Maximoff." Beast chuckled softly.

"Yeah." Pietro sighed.

"Well, I'll just mop you up a bit and then you can tell me what action of yours provoked our firey Rogue." He nodded and handed Pietro a box of tissues and a glass of water.

"What's this?" Pietro asked suspiciously.

"Well there's nothing I can do about the bloody nose until it ceases so the tissue is to help apply pressure and catch the spilled blood. And the water is because it is unpleasantly warm here in the infirmary."

Pietro shrugged and took a seat in a proffered chair. He then began to explain to the doctor exactly what he had done to merit his injuries.

Meanwhile, Tabitha was still up in her room. She seemed lost in thought, staring at a small white plastic device in a plastic bag. This small object was the cause of the biggest change she could imagine for her life. She blinked back a tear as she stared at the indicator.

After a while she felt a small twinge of hunger so she gently placed the plastic bag carefully under her pillow and got up to go back down to the kitchen. Breakfast was certainly over by now, but she felt that was for the better. Misery hung over and by the time she had gotten back downstairs, tears were slowly streaking down her face. Everything was so totally out of control and the strain was taking a lot out of her.

She opened the refrigerator door and grabbed some mayonnaise, ham, and cheese. Savagely she slammed the door, causing the room's other occupant to jump slightly as he looked up and noticed her.

She turned around upon hearing a bottle clunk agaist the table and frowned at Remy who was sitting there sulking and toying with a partially empty brown bottle miserably.

"Thought you quit." She commented conversationally as she grabbed two slices of Wonder Bread from the bag in the breadbox. She brought her sandwich stuff to the table and sat beside him.

Remy shrugged.

"What happened?" Tabby asked gently as she started putting her sandwich together.

"Nothin'." Remy said sullenly.

"Nothing, huh?" Tabby frowned. "Well that's a pretty big nothing if it can bring you back to drinking when you swore you'd never touch alcohol again."

"Remy knows he said dat. 'n Remy kept 'is promise, chère." He smirked slightly and spun the bottle so she could read the A&W Root beer label on the front.

"Funny." She rolled her eyes. "Nice idea though." She rose and grabbed herself a bottle from the fridge. She resumed her seat and dug into her sandwich.

"So, what's up?" She asked between half-hearted bites.

Remy sighed. "Y' said she'd say yes." He accused.

"What!" Tabitha looked up sharply. "Rogue said no!"

Remy nodded and stared at his drink.

"Said she di'n' wanna play games. An' her pow'rs were anot'er reason. She said she'd t'ink bout it but de tone o' her voice said she won'."

"Sorry to hear it." Tabitha frowned. "Did you just rush her and pounce hoping for an answer."

He looked slightly guilty. "Maybe. But should dat matter?"

"You cornered her and hoped she'd go out with you?" Tabitha raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"Oui...Remy'd do it if de fille asked."

"Remy..." Tabitha sighed. "This is Rogue, not you. She doesn't like being forced to do anything. You scared her."

"Oh." He frowned. "Why dey make femmes so damn hard t' understand? Someone need t' write a book wit' instructions on how t' deal wit' filles like Rogue."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Obviously you need it. She isn't that hard to figure out."

"Easy fo' y' t' say." Remy scowled. "Yo' a fille too."

"Thanks for noticing." She grumbled. "But really, she's pitching lots of easy-catch freebie clues, your just not catching them."

"Remy never was so bon at baseball." He chuckled.

Tabitha nodded. "Well you want some hints from a legendary catcher?"

He raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"I was captain of my softball team when I was ten." Tabby winked. "And as another girl I can pick up on the curveballs she throws."

"Remy gonna owe y' his soul when dis be over ain' he?" The older mutant chuckled softly.

"Nah." She laughed good humouredly. "Call me a hopeless romantic, but I love it when the gorgeous guy ends up with the perfect woman of his dreams."

"So Remy be gorgeous?" He smirked playfully.

"Yup, but you belong to Rogue." Her eyes hardened for a moment. "And I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

"P'ti'e, don' be so hard on y'self." He patted her back gently.

She sighed and forced a smile. "Enough about me, lets get to work on you and Rogue. Yes, I know she said no. But she doesn't really mean no. She's probably just testing you. Its how she weeds out the losers from the really special people."

"Y'mean dere's still a lil chance?"

"Uh huh. Hard to get is usually a surefire sign that she likes you. She worked that ploy with Cyke."

"She liked Summers?" He asked in horror.

"Yup. Borderline obsessive if you ask me." Tabitha shrugged like it was obvious. Remy looked ready to fall off his chair and have a heart attack.

"Cyclops?" He squeaked. "De same Cyclops who orders in the danger room at unholy hours an' bosses us all round an' has a stick up 'is-"

"The very same." Tabby laughed. "But keep your shirt on, well you can take it off if you want, really I wouldn't mind. But anyway, it didn't work out so well. He never realized she'd sell her soul for him because he was hung over on Jean."

Remy groaned. "She liked him?"

"Yeah, we covered that." Tabby said in a bored tone. "But now you're in the picture and she likes you a lot. Probably more. You can't crowd her though. Give her space. And follow my RPP."

"Yo' what?"

"My RPP. Rogue Proof Plan." Tabby's tone suggested it was obvious. "I spent last night figuring out a perfect strategy of how to get her returning the affections and dating you."

"Y' bin readin' dose teen chick mag'zines?" He laughed.

"Maybe." She giggled. "But I know she believes in a happy ending as much or more than I do."

"Dat so?"

"Yeah. She just hides it well. And she'd love a happy ending with you. But if you rush it, she won't be able to enjoy the fun and intrigue of the beginning and middle. Sometimes the plot along the way is better than the ending!" She warned.

"Remy take it yo' inta soap op'ras."

"Sometimes." Tabby shrugged.

"Glad t' hear Remy's social life be so entertainin' t' y'." He smiled in amusement.

"Better you and Rogue than John and Marsha." She commented mentioning her favorite soap characters. "You think YOU two got problems? Jeez, John cheats on her with the maid who happens to be Marsha's twin sister, then she retaliates by a string of one night stands in Morocco in which she falls in love with a pool guy named Miguel and then- I'll just shut up as you have no idea what I'm talking about." Tabby laughed.

"T'anks..." Remy eyed her warily.

"Look, I'm going to make sure you get your fair chance with her." Tabby said suddenly empassioned. "Give me three dates. Then you're on your own. If all goes well your hers. And failing that, well either you aren't meant for each other or you screwed up." She continued cheerily.

"Um...daccord." He shrugged. "Y' ain' gonn' tell nobody dat y' helpin' Remy right? Mean, dis kinda be embarrassin...a twen'y year ol' master t'ief needin' help from a fille t' get a femme t' date him an' all dat."

"My lips are zipped LeBeau." She frowned suddenly seeming depressed again. "I'll not tell a soul. Not like I have anyone to tell...but I won't."

He looked at her in concern. "Y' okay chère?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine...I guess." She sighed.

"Non y' ain'. Don' lie. Remy kin always tell. De emotions rollin' offa y' like water on a duck, peti'e." He shook his head. "What be bringin' y' down t' de kitchen t' wallow in misery an' seek de comforts o' de bottle an' ham?"

Her eyes gained a distant quality and all of a sudden she seemed small and afraid. His empathy picked up nervousness, fear, loneliness, anger, and sadness.

"I don't know if I should tell you." She mumbled hesitantly. "I mean, no offense or anything, its kinda personal."

"Ah. Remy unde'stand." He nodded.

Moments later she looked up at him questioningly. "Remy, are we friends?"

The question startled him and he looked up in surprise. "Oui, Remy guess so. We so alike an' all. Bin t'rough too much an' used fo' pow'rs an' that."

"I mean, if I were to tell you something that almost nobody knows...would you ditch me like everyone else has?"

"Course not." He said scandalized. He placed a comforting hand on her back. He could tell whatever she was strugling with was big and important to her.

"Really? Even if it's something really, really bad?" She asked in a small voice.

"What happened?" He asked soothingly, but alarmed.

"I'm...I kinda..." Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked them back to hide them. "Sorry, this is really hard for me to tell." She rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm...I'm having a baby." She murmured in a soft, frightened voice. She turned her face away to hide the shame on her face and avoid looking at him.

"YO' WHAT!" Remy's jaw hit the table and he accidentally knocked his bottle of rootbeer over, sending it crashing to the floor.

"I'm...going to have a baby." Her voice was trembling and low.

"Who de lucky homme?" He asked, masking his shock.

She shuddered and bit her lip. "I...I don't really know." The unwelcome tears dribbled down her cheeks slowly and she stared intently at her sneakers, as though they were the most important things in the world.

She expected him, as an older person, to start lecturing like Jean and Scott had. She expected disappointment and confusion. And really, he was confused and shocked and asking why the hell she was telling him this. But he could sense her fear and shame. He figured flipping out wouldn't help anything.

"Oh, p'ti'e." He stood up and walked over to her, pulling her into a gentle hug. He had no real clue what he was supposed to do but seeing her so upset made something inside him feel this was the right thing to do. "Remy be honest, he don' know what t' say, chère. Mais, if y' eve' need an't'in' even if it just be t' talk, Remy always be dere fo' y'."

She sniffled into his shoulder miserably. "Thanks. That means so much to me...Everybody...everyone else who found out..." She broke off crying softly, unable to control the tidal wave of emotion any longer.

He rubbed her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner. All of a sudden his ears, sensitive to even very soft sounds from his training as a thief pricked as he heard muffled foot steps approaching the kitchen. All of a sudden they stopped short in the door way. A short inhalation of breath made him turn around.

Rogue stood in the doorway, looking shocked, betrayed, and angry all at the same time.

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**OOO! Remy's got some splainin' to do! Hi again. I know, I know, death to me for all the dumb cliff hangars right? Well sorry but I just can't resist. And now we have a couple cans of worms open at the moment. Yikes. Wonder what will happen with em...**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO-**

**howlerdrode_- _**Yeah it would seem that way, but shhh don't tell him that. He hasn't yet realized it. LOL sounds like a blast, pun totally intended. Don't worry they're getting there's eventually. Don't worry. This soon enough for ya? Thanks for reviewing.

**NaijaStrawberrie-** Yep she is, and yep its one of 'em but no they didn't do that. Thanks for reviewing.

**JediTwitch-**LOL glad to hear it, because I have a whole bunch of them stacked up my sleeves. She'll realize it, but after what she just walked in on it may be a little while. Yeah Tabby and Pietro have quite a few issues to work out as of yet. And he gets major props cuz he does care about her, a lot more than he'll admit. Thanks for reviewing.

**WolvGambit Le Diable Blanc-**Aw thanks for the compliment and the review.

**Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude- **LOL Glad your so excited about it. Yup perfect proof indeed but she does tend to be a little out of the love loop so its forgiveable that she doesn't see it. LOL no you're not really, it was designed to be hidden. Can't tell ya that but it will be revealed soon, possibly the nextest chapter. Lol ya I've never noticed so much hostility towards the guys before but ya they do pretty much deserve all that and more. Of course she'll tell, I mean that kinda secret can't be kept hidden for very long. She'll find out who, but not for a while as of yet she only knows it could be one of the three. Thanks for the spirited review, and don't let the suspense kill you because then I'd be short one of my favorite authors!

**el diablo-** LOL It's ok. I'm confused a lot too. And sorry bout the Romyness, I had a burst of inspiration that will make the romyness that much sweeter when it finally arrives, hope you'll stick with me anyway. And yes all will eventually get revealed. Thanks for the review.

**chicita**- Well they'd prolly deserve and ya she is. He does seem nice and I'll play that up. Rogue will eventually let up on Remy but it may take a while. Thanks for the review

**FluidDegree-**Well that's true. I feel bad for him too but that is who Rogue is. She has every reason to be slightly suspicious. She thought he and Tabby were pulling a prank on her. Ya she'll come round eventually. And yup the 3 goons will get what's coming to them soon enough. Thanks for the review.

**tinuviel-telcontar-**LOL that was basically my reaction, Thanks for the review.

**pinkpunkmonkey-**Neat. Thanks for telling me, did your review get cut off? Thanks for the review.

**Rogue gaL-** Glad to hear it, thanks for the review.

**tinuviel-telcontar- **Glad to hear it, thanks for the advice. Thanks also for the review.

**tinuviel-telcontar-** Sorry...didn't mean to make you sad...thanks for the review.

**Nettlez-** Yeah I know, but not too many people give her positive screen time. And yes he is OOC but love does that to a person. woot thanks for the snacks and the review.

**ishandahalf-** Nah you really can't blame her, the suspicion is deep rooted and part of who she is. She probably would sell her soul for what he takes so for granted, but do ya blame her? Ya that drives me nuts so she's gonna hafta put up a little resistance to him for it to be effective. Besides the more drama, the sweeter it is when they finally end up together, right? Yup she is. And yes they are. That will be explained soon enough though. Yeah Pietro does care and he doesn't know it yet but that will come out soon too. LOL thanks for the review.

**MagCat-** LOL well there weren't too many hints to catch. And ya I bet it was sobering for Remy. And that just goes to show there's a first time for everything. Thanks for the review.

**Masau-** LOL maybe the nighttime isn't getting to you as much as you think. Though I can tell you it definitely wasn't Rogue but no worries, it was meant to seem that way. Thanks for the review.

**Sweety8587-** Sad to say but its true. If we didn't write the song lyrics we ain't allowed to use 'em. Oh let me know if ya make your own site, I'll write there. This one's drivin' me nuts and I'm thinking about doing my own site too.

**Sweety8587- **Hope this chapter cleared things up a bit for you and yes that may eventually happen, thanks for reviewing.

**black cat of the black rose-**Ok thanks for reviewing.

Ok now since y'all were kind enough to read this far, would ya mind reviewing pretty please?

7-20-05


	6. The Chaos of Assumption

**Hey I am so back! And sadly unless I work very very fast on BID, this is my last update before school starts. Bah. I have until the 31st but there's this little issue contributing to the chaos. I'm in the middle of moving and I have to pack and clean everything so that's taking a considerable amount of time. But have no fears I shall continue writing. And for those of you who are new to this chapter, a good bit of advice would be to read from the beginning as this story will be hard to follow, guaranteed if you pick it up after chapter one.**

**Disclaimer: (looks around) Even if I did own Marvel, it's probably in a box right now so can't help ya there.**

**" Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it."-Agatha Christie**

**♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥**

Remy gulped. "Chére, it ain' what it looks like."

Tabitha pushed him away. "Yeah, really it isn't Rogue."

"Really?" Rogue asked with a raised eyebrow. Apparently she had recovered from her shock. "Cause it looks like two people huggin' ta me."

"Dat be because Remy was huggin' de fille, but it ain' what yo' thinkin'."

"An' how would ya know what Ah'm thinkin'?" Rogue challenged. "Unless ya recently developed telepathy."

"Jus' don' go an' jump t'any conclusions," Remy said cautiously.

Rogue crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Ah ain' makin' any conclusions but yo' doin' one helluva bang up job doin' that on yo' own."

Remy looked in panic to Tabby who was trying to think fast but was coming up with nothing.

"Why does everyone here act like a kid caught with a hand in the cookie jar before dinner when their lil relationships are revealed?" Rogue sighed. "Look, y'all are perfectly entitled ta do whatever ya want with whoever ya want." She rolled her eyes.

"Y' ain' mad?" Remy asked cautiously.

"No. Should Ah be?" She asked curiously. In all truth she wasn't mad. She was devastated. She had been coming down to talk with him about the confusion surrounding his proposal to go out. She thought she had been rather rude but he'd frightened her.

That comment of hers stung Remy a bit.

"Look Gambit." Rogue stressed his codename, which made him wince. "There ain't nothin' happ'nin' between us. So why the Hell would I care if ya an' Tabby were all ova each otha? Though Ah'd rather y'all not get too cozy in the dinin' room."

She headed over to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle. Remy frowned. "It ain' like dat, Rogue. Remy was only huggin' her 'cause she be enciente."

Rogue spun around with a questioning look. "Really?"

"Oui." Remy smiled, relieved at the sudden change from pissed off to sweet.

"Well, congratulations, Tabby." She smiled. "Do ya know how long?"

Tabitha sighed and placed a hand on her belly. "About five or six weeks." She looked down, expecting the obligatory older person lecture she had escaped from Remy.

Rogue smiled again. She congratulated herself mentally on how good it was as neither of them seemed to notice that it was forced. "Well, that answers a lotta questions Ah had."

"Remy so glad y' understand, Chére." He smiled in relief and stepped closer to her.

"What's not ta undastand?" Rogue asked calmly. Then her eyes narrowed. "If ya eva call me that again, Ah'll be obligated ta kill ya." She turned to Tabby. "Well maybe not yo' most rational choice, but Ah'm sure everythin's gonna work out fo' ya."

"Thanks." Tabby gave the older girl a half smile.

"Well Rem, Ah was comin' down ta tell ya mah descision. But ah guess this told ya for me." Rogue flashed a dazzling smile.

"Remy ain' so sure dat he get what y' mean..." Remy raised a cautious eyebrow.

Rogue's smile slipped. "Ah'd think it's perfectly clear."

Remy shrugged helplessly. He tried to catch Tabby's eye but she looked just as puzzled.

Rogue sighed. "Remy, Ah ain' the kinda gal who can do what yo' askin' fo'." She took a deep breath. "We'd both be foolin' ourselves. It wouldn' ever work out between us."

Remy's eyes widened. "Remy no understand."

Rogue hardened her eyes. "Why ya bein' so damn difficult? Ya think hard an' take a good look inta Tabby's eyes an' then tell me ya don' get whah Ah ain' gonna consida yo' offer anymo'." She scowled. Then she turned and stalked off.

Remy and Tabitha watched with dropped jaws as she exited.

"What de Hell was dat about?" Remy gaped at the doorway.

Tabby thought for a moment and then whistled. "I think I know." She bit her lip, a pale blush appearing on her cheeks. "You kinda didn't explain this whole thing too well..."

He stared at her. "Quoi?" At her blank look he translated. "Whatta y' talkin' bout?"

"I think she thinks that..." Tabby avoided his eyes. "We...You and me...you know..." He stared blankly and she blurted quickly. "She thinks its your kid."

"Why moi?" Remy asked the ceiling in a pleading tone. "Why always Remy?"

Tabitha took a deep breath. "Oh man. I am such an idiot." She dropped back into her chair. She put her head in her hands and leaned her face into the table. "Now I've gone and ruined everything!"

"No, y' didn' do nuttin'." Remy tried comforting her.

"Oh I did. And I so have to go and talk to her. Maybe if it gets explained..."

"P'tie, t'ain' yo' fault. She was gonna say no anyway."

"No!" Tabby cried. "She was coming to say yes, I just know it! She was hiding it. I know the signs! And stupid stupid me went and ruined it!"

"Ruined what?" A perky voice floated toward's them. "Um, am I, like, interupting something?" Kitty asked as she cautiously stepped into the room.

"No, but you can stay and wallow in misery with us if you want." Tabby gestured to an empty chair.

"Uh oh, I know that tone of voice." Kitty rushed to sit beside her. "What happened?"

"Oh nothing too bad." Tabby sniffled. "I just totally ruined all chances for Rogue to get with him." She nodded to Remy and buried her face in her arms.

"But that's not possible." Kitty frowned. "What could you possibly do to make her get over him?" Kitty smiled encouragingly.

"I told her about...something that made her flip." Tabby hesitated, unsure whether she should tell Kitty her secret.

"Like, what? Rogue normally doesn't get set off too easily." Kitty frowned.

Tabby bit her lip and looked helplessly at Remy. He shook his head, nope telling her business had gotten him into enough hot water this morning. She hung her head. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone, alright?"

Kitty looked immediately concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just promise." Tabby urged.

"Alright, I promise." Kitty nodded nervously.

"I told her that..." Tabby took a shaky deep breath. "That I'm kinda gonna hava baby." Tabitha winced expecting the resident gossip monger to jump at that like a dog to a bone.

Kitty glanced from Remy's look of self-loathing to Tabby's guilty face. "Let me guess, Rogue freaked cuz she thought it was his?"

"Got in one p'ti'e." Remy nodded sadly.

"But...That's a physical impossibility!" Kitty argued. "Ohhh she's totally too stubborn for her own good sometimes!" Kitty scowled. "You and Remy never...well you, like, know what I mean." Kitty blushed a little. Then she looked suspicious. "You didn't, did you?"

"NON!" Remy scowled at her. "Remy ain' neva touched de fille!" He glared at Kitty, insulted for the insinuation. "Not ever!"

"Ok, geez, like, hold your horses. I was only trying to like, get my facts straight, you know?" She turned to Tabitha. "So then, like, what made her think that he was the dad?"

"De fille was cryin' an' upset when she told Remy bout de bebe, so Remy hug her den Rogue walked in an' completely blew de t'ing outta proportion." Remy explained.

"Oh." Kitty nodded. Then she turned to Tabby. "Is it true?"

"That Remy isn't the father? Uh Yeah." Tabby raised an eyebrow.

"Actually I meant that you were having a baby, but I guess that answers that question." Kitty smiled shakily. Then she looked curious. "If it isn't his then, who...?"

Tabby sighed miserably. "I wish I knew, alright?" She grumbled irritably.

"Oh." Kitty bit her bottom lip, slightly taken aback. "How far are you?"

"Five or six weeks." Tabby said simply. "Give or take a few days."

Kitty squealed and hugged the other girl. "Now there'll be a reason for me to go shop for baby clothes! Wow, you're gonna be the first X-mom! That's so cool!"

Tabby smiled shakily and shot Remy a nervous look. "Um, yea. Cool right. Listen Kit, you've really gotta keep this quiet. Okay?"

"Aw really?" Kitty frowned. "Shoot."

"Yeah. Look I don't want this to be public knowledge until there is no physical way I can deny it."

"Well, Tabby, this isn't really, like, the kind of secret that you can hide for a long time." Kitty raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I mean, you're already almost two months along. Aren't you going to, like, start showing soon?"

Tabby nodded. "Yeah but I should have a little while to go. I need to figure out what I'm doing and I don't need all of everybody harrassing me about it with questions."

Kitty nodded in reluctant acceptance. "Wait, like, what do you mean you need to figure out what your doing?"

Tabby teared up. "Kitty, I'm seventeen. I never had my own good example of a family and babies deserve a good family. I grew up in a disfunctional home and I wouldn't wish that on anybody else. This baby was an accident. I don't even know who the father is. I don't have a job or money or anything. How can I take care of a kid?"

Kitty bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. Remy looked curiously at her.

Tabby continued in a soft and fearful tone. "I don't even know if this kid deserves to live the screwed up life I made for it."

"Woah! Time out!" Kitty gaped. "You aren't thinking about what I think you are, right?"

Tabby hugged her arms around herself. "Maybe. I don't know." Her voice was small, and scared.

"But, you totally can't!" Kitty argued. "That's, like, murder of the highest and cruelest sort! It's, like, totally not right!"

"I know, I know." Tabby frowned. "I'm just so confused right now, alright? I never wanted this to happen! This is going to ruin my life!"

"Tabit'a? Why do we fall down?" Remy asked gently, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She stared blankly at him. "So we kin learn t' pick ourselves up." He said in a soothing voice. "Yo' bebe won' ruin yo' life. Change it, oui, mais sometimes change be a bon t'ing, non?"

She sniffled and burried her face in her arms again. "I don't know what to do. I just don't know. I need chocolate ice cream." She whimpered.

"Luckily for you, the professor like, owns stock in Ben and Jerry's or something." Kitty laughed and headed to the specially designated ice cream freezer. "Personally, I think the Professor must personally know them or something." She reached in and pulled out a pint of Ben & Jerry's. "This looks appropriate." She laughed and showed them. "Chocolate Therapy Mood magic. It's got Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookies & Swirls of Chocolate Pudding. And the label thingy says 'Uh-oh. Call the emotional rescue squad. Whatever wrinkle, glitch, minor upset or major mishap may be the cause of your discombobulated state, that "must-have-chocolate" mantra you're muttering calls for primal s'cream therapy of the sublimest chocolate kind.'. Sounds like this will help. You want some Remy?"

"Better not." He shrugged. "Sounds like a chocolate overdose in a cardboard package t' Remy."

"Sounds like heaven in a cup to me." Tabby sighed.

"Remy'd rat'er not, just ate breakfast."

"Like, suit yourself." She proceeded to divide the pint into two bowls. "This isn't going to make you puke, is it Tabby?" Kitty asked curiously.

"No." Tabby shook her head. "That was breakfast. Baby didn't like that food much. But baby wants the chocolate ice cream, don' you, baby?" Tabby asked her perfectly flat belly. "Yes that's right."

Kitty giggled and passed the bowl.

"You are so a lifesaver, kit." Tabby sighed happily with her eyes shut in bliss.

"Like, anytime." Kitty smiled gently. "That's totally what friends are for."

Remy stared from one girl to the other. "What is it wit' filles an' chocolate ice cream? O' chocolate in gen'ral?"

Tabby shrugged. "This would be such an opportune time to burst into the song 'That's what girls do by No Secrets." She laughed. "But as this website doesn't allow song lyrics any more heartsyhawk will need to work on somehow creatively doing it so in a later oneshot it will be her own lyrics to the same song."

"Huh?"

"Who dis Heartsyhawk be?" Remy asked suspiciously.

"Only this crazy chick who seriously gets her kicks from destroying our lives. They say that she's worst to her favorites. And if that's true, and the other rumors are, I would head for the hills if I were you. Actually, I may join you. Just let me go find Wanda, Pietro, and Rogue first. Oh and Pyro."

**THAT IS SO NOT TRUE! I COULD NEVER CAUSE PERMANENT HARM TO ANY OF THE CHARACTERS I LOVE THE MOST!**

"Are you this heartsyhawk person?"

**UM...NO.**

"Really, cause, like, you referred to yourself as 'I' when Tabby said that Heartsyhawk-"

**OK ENOUGH QUESTIONS? ANYONE WANNA PLAY A BOARD GAME? I GOT LIFE, MONOPOLY, HARRY POTTER, SCRABBLE...**

**"**Who de heck are we even talkin' t'?"

"Like, obviously 'not' heartsyhawk."

**WHY DO YOU MOCK ME! OK then, I know how to fix this. (Approaches Harry Potter) Hey Potter can I borrow that? Thanks (Grabs wand) OBLIVIATE!**

"Um, Remy? Like, did you say something?"

"Oui, What is it wit' filles an' chocolate anyhow?" Remy asked with a slightly dazed look.

"Oh. Chocolate is, like, totally God's gift to people."

"Yeah, it's proof that He loves us and wants us to be happy." Tabby grinned digging into her dish.

"Remy t'ought dat was beer." Remy chuckled.

"According to Benjamin Franklin, yeah. But he wasn't female." Tabby smiled.

"It's a girl thing, and you wouldn't understand. But, like, would you believe that chocolate is good for you?"

"Quoi?" Remy raised both eyebrows.

"It totally is!" Kitty grinned. "Chocolate comes from cocoa beans. And beans, like all other legumes, are like, totally considered vegetables. So technically chocolate is, like, a vegetable. And with all the milk in it, you're like, getting two important food groups at once. And if it has fruit or rice krispies in it, you're only adding to the good."

"Dat so?" Remy smiled. "Den guess dat be enough of an excuse t' eat de stuff den, non?"

"Like, totally." Kitty nodded happily. "But, like, that isn't all. It can help you lose weight too, and control a diet."

"How so?" Remy asked curiously.

"Well, if you eat a bar of chocolate before every meal, it'll take the edge off of your appetite." Kitty said knowledgeably. "And chocolate has these things called flavanols, which, like, help keep cholestoral down , and are totally good for your heart and can even prevent cancer."

Remy looked pretty impressed. "How y' know all dis peti'e?"

"Like, I read an article on it for a project in school."

"Oh yeah, hey I remember that." Tabby spoke up thoughtfully. "I read the article cause you left it lying around. Didn't it say something about chocolate having dwarferins or something? Whatever it is that makes you feel happy?"

"Endorphins." Kitty laughed. "And they make you feel like you're in love too. Which is why the greeting card and candy companies push chocolate on Valentines day."

"An' t' t'ink, Tantie Mattie usedt' smack us wit' a rollin' pin everytime she caught us eatin' de stuff befo' dinner." Remy chuckled.

"Well, maybe I should stop then." Tabitha frowned at her bowl of icecream. "I don't do so well with love."

"Like, what do you mean Tabby?" Kitty asked gently.

"I'd rather not go into it." The other girl said in a haunting tone of voice. "But love is what got me into this mess in the first place." She held a hand to her belly. "I suppose I deserve this. Or maybe fate just likes laughing at me."

"Oh Tabby..." Kitty frowned, hugging the other girl comfortingly.

"Remy sorry y' goin' t'rough a tuff time, chére." He put a hand on her shoulder.

Tabby sniffled and smiled ruefully. "What are we sitting around here drowning in my misery for? We should be worrying about how to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else, like Rogue and Remy for starters."

"That's, like, totally right!" Kitty perked up. "We have to put them back together. I don't want all that work to go to waste."

"What work?" Tabby asked curiously.

"I spent, like, a lot of time last night and this morning working on what I'm calling project happily ever after. Rogue is, like, too stubborn for her own good. I'm not going to let her get in the way of her own happiness."

"No way!" Tabby grinned. "I've been planning too. I've been helping Remy, cause sexy as Hell or not, he's clueless."

"Yeah, I totally hear ya." Kitty giggled.

"Um, peti'es? Remy be right here."

"Oh, right." Kitty grinned apologetically. Then turned her attention back to Tabby. "Maybe we should compare notes?"

"Great idea." Tabby nodded. "I bet we can so do this. With the two of us giving them subtle pushes, they can't fail."

"Yeah. And I bet you'd have some great ideas to help me with the wedding!" Kitty squealed.

"W-Weddin'! Filles, ain' y' jumpin' de gun kinda a lot?" Remy asked in a panicky voice.

"Oh yeah, they aren't even technically a couple yet." Tabby frowned in disappointment.

"Oh, like, that's kinda crucial huh?" Kitty sighed.

"Oui!" Remy exploded. "Jus' slightly!"

"Ok, so we need to fix this little mess then." Tabby bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Rogue isn't going to cooperate so well." Kitty warned. "She's going to be thinking that you were trying to play with her mind, and she hates that."

"Remy know. When we went t' Louisiana t'get'er she tol' Remy dat. We got dat in common." He hung his head.

"Why don't we, like, just lock the two of you in a closet until it gets solved?" Kitty asked.

"Negatory Kit." Tabby shook her head. "The way Rogue gets when she's pushed in any direction, we'll be lucky if we can identify the corpse by Remy's dental records."

Remy gulped. "Let's avoid dat scenario, daccord?"

"Ok...We could tie her to a chair and then stick 'em in the closet."

"Nah, Rogue's creative. And how would she get tied to a chair in the first place? I'm sure not gonna try it. She'd go all homicidal."

"Please don' talk bout her dat way? Y' makin' de femme Remy be interested in sound like a psycho intent on killin' us all."

"Sorry." Tabby shrugged. "But how do you honestly think she'd react if we hogtied her and stuffed her in a closet? And then put you in there with her."

"Y' got a fair point." Remy admitted.

"Then, like, what do you suggest we do?" Kitty sighed.

"Remy could jus' go talk t' her, non?" He suggested.

"Are you, like, totally crazy!" Kitty gaped. "That would never work! We need to think of something so creative that she'll have to admit how much she wants to be with you."

"Mais, all y' creative plans gonna end up in Remy dyin' young an' painfully." He pointed out. "An' Remy'd rat'er not put murder on her conscience. Not t' mention dat deat' don' sound so appealin' t' a twen'y year old."

"You just don't get it!" Kitty shook her head sadly.

"No, I think he does." Tabby said thoughtfully. "He has a valid point. Neither of them will get a happy ending if she brutally kills him. And then all our work will be a waste. Maybe we should give his idea a shot. After all, this is his relationship. And it's our only good plan so far."

"I think we'd all be better off with the closet idea." Kitty grumbled. "But we'll keep it as back up."

"Alright. Now lets go. Remy can talk, and we can make sure that things don't get violent." Tabby stood up, putting her bowl in the dishwasher.

"Love yo' fait' in Rogue, filles." Remy sighed. "C'mon. It prolly better t' get dis misunderstandin' fixed quick befo' it gets worse."

"Yeah, you're, like totally right and stuff." Kitty agreed and put her bowl in the dishwasher too.

The trio headed upstairs with the hope of reparing the mess.

Mean while, Pietro was laying back on his bed. The bloody nose had stopped a while ago. Now he was trying to sort through his confusion. Since his lovely little chat with Rogue, he felt like he had unsuccessfully tried to swallow an entire orange and now it was stuck in his throat.

He hated himself for admitting it, but he had been hoping the 3 guys had been talking about Rogue. Then it wouldn't personally affect him so badly. He knew without asking that it wasn't his sister, and he was very thankful for that fact.

Wanda was simply still too stuck in the cootie phase that she'd never really had a chance to grow out of in the asylum. She freaked out a lot when Toad tried to hug her, and she'd probably die screaming if he ever kissed her again. There was absolutely no way she could be pregnant, unless her crazy and uncontrolled powers did something funky.

But what he was feeling right now, he didn't understand. The third and final option was Tabitha. And he didn't know why it would bother him that somebody got her pregnant, but it very badly did.

"I don't even like her." He said aloud with a slight scowl.

Something inside told him that he was lying to himself. And he knew it. Last night, he had felt a raging fire in his heart when he found the 3 guys harassing her. And now he felt like a stone had sunk into his stomach.

He stared in blank bewilderment at his ceiling, not noticing the dark shadow that entered his room. He grunted in frustration and pulled his pillow over his head to stifle his scream.

"Maybe it's just me, but Ah'da thought if yo' pillow was attackin' ya'd be able ta fight it off." An amused and Southern voice broke his thoughts.

"Funny." He removed the pillow to glare at Rogue, who was sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Ah thought so." Rogue smirked.

"What-are-you-doing-in-here-anyway?" He rolled his eyes.

"Now Pietro, cain' a lady jus' talk ta a handsome gen'leman without reason?" She pouted.

He looked at her suspiciously. "What-do-you-want-Rogue?"

"You." She smiled and batted her eyelashes.

"No-seriously." Pietro raised an eyebrow.

"Who said Ah was kiddin'?" Rogue said in a soft tone, as she crept closer. "Ya are what Ah want. Only ya."

She put a hand on his knee and he jumped nearly to the moon. He sat up and pulled his legs in close.

"Rogue, don't-hit-me-or-anything-but-are-you-taking-drugs-or-something?" He blurted nervously.

"Now, darlin' it ain' nice ta go an accuse a gal o doin' stuff lahke that." She shook her head.

"Ok, Rogue. Please don't get mad." He said cautiously and slowly. "Are you drunk?"

"Silly, ya know Ah neva drink." She smiled coyly and sat on her knees in front of him.

"Rogue, you're-starting-to-scare-me." He frowned.

"Oh, now ya know Ah didn' mean ta." Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes widened.

It was then that he noticed her eyes were red rimmed. That left two conclusions. That she had completely gone out of character and had in fact been drinking or... "Rogue, have you been crying?"

"No Ah have not." She scowled. Her saccharine sweet tone returned. "Though thanks fo' ya concern, Sugah."

"What-happened?"

"Nothin' that ya can' make betta fo' me." She grinned. "Ah need ya." She reached for his hand and he freaked.

He jumped up. "I-dunno-what-the-Hell-is-up-but-you're-freaking-me-out!" He said in a panicky voice. "I'm-getting-McCoy."

Rogue narrowed her eyes. And with reflexes enhanced with speed borrowed from him, she grabbed him tightly by the arm. "Ah don' think so."

"Rogue, let-go!" He glared.

She scowled. "So much fo' catchin' mo' flies with honey than vinegar." She kept a firm grip on him as he tried to wriggle his arm from her grasp. "Look, yo' not goin' anywhere. Y'all are gonna sit right here an' listen ta what Ah'm gonna say, mkay darlin?"

"You-are-a-friggen-syko!" He bellowed. "Let-go-of-me!"

"If ya don' sit down right now, Ah'm gonna tear this arm offa ya an' beat yo' brains out with it." She growled.

"I'm thinking you are on drugs." He sneered. "Or-maybe-my-earlier-assumption-was-right. Maybe-you-are-the-one-the-goons-were-trashing. You're-sure-having-enough-mood swings." He spat.

She twisted his arm a bit, just enough to get her point across. "Ah was acting like that ta get yo' attention. Though, Ah'm guessin' that this way is more effective."

"Owowowowow!" He whimpered as her grip tightened. "Lemme-go! That-hurts! You-can-have-anything-you-want, my-wallet's-on-my-dresser-and-Toad's-is-in-his-pillow!"

"Ah ain' afta money."

"Then what do you want?" He whined.

"You, Pietro Eric Maximoff, are gonna take me out tomorrow alright?"

"Rogue this is really not how you ask somebody out." He winced feeling his arm wrenched painfully out of place.

"That's cause Ah ain' askin' ya, Ah'm tellin' ya." She smiled pointedly. "Ah ain' givin' ya any choice in the matter."

"Why the sudden change of mind?" He asked through gritted teeth. "Normally you can't stand being in the same room as me."

"That would be because yo' ego don' fit in the same room wit' other people, Sugah." She explained as if it were obvious. "An' desp'rate times call fo desparate measures. But ya can consider this ya way ta make up for callin' me a whore an' accusin' me of bein' pregnant."

"What if I say I won't?" He sneered.

"Ah know that ain't gonna happen." Rogue smirked and twisted his arm, increasing her grip on his forearm. A disheartening crack left him gasping painfully.

"OkayOkay! Uncle-mercy-pity! Whatever-just-let-my-arm-go!" He howled in pain.

To his surprise she released it without complaint. He cradled his injured arm and stared incredulously at her.

"Why me?" He asked softly.

"Cause yo' the one who'd hurt him the mos'." Rogue said in a low defeated tone.

"Hurt who?" He asked cautiously.

She pulled her knees close to her chest and sighed.

"I'm gonna presume that Gambit did something." He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly she looked helpless. She nodded mutely.

"What'd he do?" Pietro asked gently. "Did he say he wouldn't take you out or something?"

She shook her head wordlessly.

"Did he...say something off color?" She replied the same as before.

"Then what happened?" He asked, slightly exasparated.

"He asked me out." She said and then trailed off, leading him to believe that wasn't the entire story.

"And..." He prompted.

"And Ah said no." Again he knew she wasn't finished. So he gave her a look and she sighed. "But then Ah saw that he looked all cres'fallen an' so Ah thought about it an' decided Ah'd give him the benefit of the doubt an' try it out. Ah found 'im in the kitchen." She took a deep breath and he waited patiently for her to continue. "Apparently he was only jokin' or messin' with me or somethin'. Cause Ah found him an' Boom Boom all ova each otha." She mumbled in a tone that implied her heart was on the verge of shattering over this revelation. "An' when he tried explainin' his ass outta that situation, he acciden'ly told me about their dirty lil secret that won't be too secret for long." Rogue sighed and put her chin on her knees. "Well at least if everythin' goes right, anyway. That lil issue will be visible to everyone real soon."

"You mean...?" He trailed off leaving her to answer.

"She's about a month an' a half along." Rogue sighed again. "In bout seven an' a half months she's gonna be a mama ta his baby."

Pietro froze, an expression of shock registering on his features. He felt like the mansion was crashing around his ears.

Rogue took a deep breath. "An' then ya know what that bastard had the nerve ta do?" She continued bitterly without waiting for a reply. "He kep' persistin' an' tryin' ta act lahke he didn't get why Ah wouldn't go out with him. In fronta the gal who's carryin' his kid." She made a sound halfway between a huff and a sob. "Ah can' b'leive Ah was so stupid."

Pietro looked at her in alarm. He was still in a hazy state but he could see she was horribly upset. He didn't say anything, figuring that it would be best to let her get the whole thing off her chest before trying to help.

"Ah mean, ta think that Ah actually thought he was serious! But lookin' back on it, whah would he want someone he can' touch when he has that insatiable appetite fo' sex?"

Pietro looked in pity at her. He sat beside her, still uncertain of what to say. She continued before he had the chance.

"An' she can definitely give it ta him. An' now he's hers fo'eva wetha he wants ta be o' not  
cause that baby needs a daddy. An' Ah wouldn' take that away from anyone." She sniffled. "Ah can' get ova the fact that Ah fell fo' his cheesy lines."

Pietro snapped back into his senses enough to wrap his uninjured arm protectively around her shoulders. "Hey, it's alright. Don't cry, he isn't worth the tears." He said in a soothing voice.

"Ah thought he really liked me, Pietro. Ah really thought he did." She said softly. "He sounded so sincere. An' like he was barin' his heart ta me. Ah can' believe Ah fell fo' it. Ah'm so damn stupid." She sniffled.

"No you aren't." Pietro said gently. "It's him who's an idiot for trying to pull something like that."

"Ya really think so?" She asked, and it melted his heart how helpless she sounded.

"No, Rogue. I know so." He told her confidently. "And if he thinks you're just a toy, then he isn't even worth getting upset over. And it's his loss."

Rogue sniffled and gave a half smile. "Ah guess yo' right."

"Aren't-I-always?" He gave her a cocky grin.

"Yo' incorrigible." She chuckled and playfully smacked him.

"I know." He winked. Then he grew serious again. "Why me? Why'd you ask me out if you just got dumped?"

Her eyes hardened again. "Ah got mah reasons."

He raised an eyebrow. "Care to fill me in?"

"Ah need ta show him that Ah can do better'n him anyway. An' in the way that would hit his backstabbin' heart the hardest." She admitted. "He hated workin' fo' ya daddy, Pietro. He hated ev'ry thin' bout it. An' yo' Magneto's son. It'll prove mah poin' an' hit him where it hurts."

His lips curled into a smirk. "So-this-is-a-revenge-date? To-hurt-Gambit?"

"Um, basically...yeah." Rogue shrugged with a coy smile.

"Why-didn't-you-just-say-that-to-start-with!" He cried, exasperated. "Instead-you-came-at-me-practically-oozing-that-Southern-Charm-thing-of-yours-and-scaring-the-crap-out-of-me!"

She winced. "Ah kinda hoped it would seem mo' real if ya didn' know the name of mah game."

"So-er-why-choose-that-approach?"

She flushed slightly and looked embarrased. "Ah've seen ya respond ta othas when they act like that."

"Ok Rogue, lets-get-this-straight. It-works-for-cheap-and-easy-floozies. But-never-you-alright?"

She nodded and twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

"So ya gonna help me?"

"Rogue, I'll take you out, and it will look so real and you'll look so happy that the swamp rat will have to get his jaw surgically replaced." Pietro promised with a smirk.

Rogue smiled softly and surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. "Thanks so much, sugah." She whispered into his ear.

He looked startled but patted her back. "No problem." He smiled. "Anything-to-show-off-my-acting-abilities." He winked.

Suddenly Rogue caught the sound of footsteps. After a second, she identified them to be from 3 seperate people. And by the muffled voices, she decided that there was a pair of pink sketchers, a well worn set of hiking boots, and the third set, she guessed to be those damn metal boots Remy was always wearing. It always had amazed her how he could walk so quickly and quietly in them.

She knew this because of the voices.

"Like, what are we doing in the boys dorm wing?"

"Wolverine completely flipped about Pietro being in my room Kit. Guys aren't allowed in the girl's wing." Tabitha explained. "A fat lot of good it would do if the Badger killed him before he got to do what needs to be done. We're going this way to evade suspicion."

"Oh." Kitty agreed.

"An' Remy don' really want Wolverine guttin' him."

Rogue turned to Pietro. "Play along." She mouthed to him.

He tilted his head but nodded. She arranged herself beside him, with her head resting on his chest and both arms loosely wrapped around him.

"Oh Pietro," She simpered, louder than her normal voice as Remy and the two girls were passing. "Ah'd love nothin' mo' than ta go out with ya, Darlin'."

Remy froze in front of the door. Slowly he turned. In time to see Rogue practically all over Pietro. He stared blankly. His jaw hit the floor as Rogue nuzzled her head under Pietro's chin with a sweet smile and a look in her eyes that implied she was lost in happiness.

Kitty and Tabby turned around to see what was wrong with him. Four blue eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

Pietro smiled cockily. "So tomorrow it is then. You'll have a blast. I'm sure of it."

He rearranged her so she was practically in his lap and grinned. He lowered his face to hers and watched her eyes widen. "Don't freak" he mouthed to her. She nodded slowly and forced herself to relax enough to trust him and wind her arms around his neck and close her eyes with a smile.

Pietro got within a millimeter of her lips, and Rogue sighed inwardly. It was a lot better than nothing, but it was that much more tantalizing from this close up. To anybody who was not in their faces it looked pretty darn genuine. Pietro pulled away slowly with a wink.

Remy made a tiny protesting squeak of disbelief from the doorway. Rogue's eyes fluttered open and she sighed in content, though that was only for show. She then turned to Remy and acknowledged him and the two girls.

"Oh hey guys. Ah didn' see ya there." She smiled.

"Well you wouldn't, from, like, Pietro's lips!" Kitty cried out. "What on earth was that about?"

Rogue put on a joyous smile. "Pie's takin' me out ta see the ballet tomorrow." She drawled.

Tabitha frowned for a second before retorting. "Aw what a coincidence. Remy's taking me."

Pietro turned to Rogue in alarm at the same time that Remy looked at Tabby incredulously. Both of them had panicky "I am?" looks on their faces.

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**Oh what a tangled web I weave. So hard to believe that I'm so abusive to my favorite characters isn't it? I've been told its a good thing that this is only to the fictional loves of my life. Else my kitty cat Dobby would shave himself, move to Mexico, and pretend to be a Chihuahua so I wouldn't find him, and my boyfriend and sister will join him...So anyway, be patient the Romy will eventually happen. I promise. Though this may be an opportune time to point out that when I first started reading X-men Evolution I was a rabid Rietro fan. Thankfully I quickly saw the light and reformed. I'm having fun writing this and I hope you are enjoying reading it. So now would be the most perfect time to review. Speaking of reviews...**

**JediTwitch- **(Glances at Pietro hiding under the couch with Tobi) Yeah, I guess you could call him that. And sadly, I may be enjoying it a bit too much. But it's just so fun...Well honestly, it's Rogue. She does kinda have every right to be suspicious. He isn't too trustworthy if you think about it...And that would be too kind to the goons, wouldn't it? Thanks for reviewing.

**Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude-** Well, Romy is usually all about the Drama. And she doesn't so much turn and run, but yeah there's a wee bit of miscommunication goin' on. I may have been keen on Rietro when I was young and stupid, but now Romy is the only way I can see it. But I can promise that when they do end up getting out of their own way, it will be worth the wait. The Goons? Yeah. They'll get what's coming to them, eventually. Mebe they'll get the same fate as Carmen...hm that would be fun. As for who the father is, well I ping pong myself on that one, but I won't reveal it until the kid is born. But no worries, it will be good, if I may say so. Thanks for reviewing.

**howlerdrode-** Yeah, Drama's like peanut butter. The thicker the better. Especially when coupled with lots and lots of fluff. What can I say, I have a lot of monkey wrenches to throw. And yes the goons will be served a heap of justice. So you get workin' on Untold Story alrighty? Thanks for reviewing.

**MidniteAngelGoth-** It wasn't that evil was it? Okay, granted it was. The cliffies attack me and I have no choice but to put them in the story. The only more fierce thing is the plot hounds that are reproducing like syko drugged rabbits. They gnaw on my knees. So you can blame them I suppose. I don't think most people were expecting the Tabby thing. That was initially for another story, but it is working perfectly well here. Thanks for reviewing.

**ishandahalf-** I liked writing it. I wanted her to abuse him worse but he's needed for her twisted plot so he's for the most part unharmed. Yeah, hot water about describes it. Rogue has every reason in the world to be skittish and jealous and he doesn't exactly have a clean rap sheet with girls in past relationships. Though it is a dangerous time to get close to Tabby, with emotions all over the place and tension flying high. Well, I'd say Tabby and Kit both have their hearts in the right place, but maybe they should consider a professional when it comes to magic. Don't ya think? Thanks for reviewing.

**Sweety8587-** Sometime soon I'm gonna get started on my own fanfiction site. It will be called My dad and I are gonna run it. I don't know when it will happen, but I like the idea. Yea exactly. Looks like Rem and Lady Luck had a falling out. If you ever catch the bad-timing-dude let him have it from me, lol. Thanks for reviewing.

**Nettlez-** Yeah, but I think the way Rogue takes it, it should be poor Remy. She's kinda jealous. Thanks for the review.

**tinuviel-telcontar-** I'll be the first to admit, I can get a little mean when it comes to Pietro. Yeah, Rogue really does have every reason in the world to be jealous, skittish, and untrusting when it comes to Remy. If it were me, I'd make him live in a cage in my basement with a human-sized hamster wheel and a slot to push food though, but that may just be me...Thanks for reviewing.

**Masau-** Yeah, well there's a perfectly good saying when it comes to assumptions. When you ASSUME it breaks down to something that makes an ASS out of U and ME. Yeah, I like the movie 'Hitch'. I'll be doing an Evo version...eventually. Thanks for reviewing.

**NaijaStrawberrie-** Glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing.

**MagCat-** Poor all of them really. Actually, I never liked Roberto/Tabby much either. But as they did this thing with it in the comix...I thought I'd do my own little versionlet in the Evo-verse. Sadly I'm not going to be revealing who the father is until the baby is born, but you're welcome to guess. Glad you liked it, Thanks for reviewing.

**sheisbeautiful-sheisnotme**- Actually, ironically enough I'm not a fan of soaps. But writing them is sure fun:) Thanks for reviewing.

**Rogue14-** Take note, that's what happens when one assumes bad things about Rogue. Got it one, but do you really blame her? I mean, put yourself in her shoes for a moment. Thanks for reviewing.

**WolvGambit Le Diable Blanc-**Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

**Rogue Gal-** I hate when the site does that, don't you? Glad you liked it thanks for reviewing.

**FluidDegree-**Yeah, well Rogue isn't such a big person on trust so ya I'd say you're right about that. Thanks for reviewing.

**black cat of the black rose -** Thank you. Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

**Cat2fat900-**I hear ya. Everytime I go away I miss the best updates. It's a guarantee from Murphy's law. Glad you like it, thanks for the review.

**Cat2fat900-** Hm that oddly sounds like something Pyro would worship. That would be cool. LOL. Yeah and sadly the dad isn't Pie. It makes me sad too, but I can promise a tabbietro happy ending. Yup got it in one. Rogue always was skittish with stuff like that. Thanks for reviewing (both chapters).

**Q T Pie-** Mk. Thanks for reviewing.

**el diablo-** Well, it's not really my fault, you see, there's these monster plot hounds that gnaw on my knees and they like cliffies. Well, if you're weird, I guess that makes me wierd to cuz I was cracking up writing it. But that's okay. I like being weird. Thanks for reviewing.

**epicmuse- **Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

Boy Howdy let me tell you guys that I am so glad I'm still allowed to do that. After that scare with no review responses, that feels so good. I want to use this space to thank all of you who told me, and sent the petition, isn't it so awesome that it was only a false alarm? I love all of you who review me, and I love reviews so hop to it! LOL See ya next time

8-23-05

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	7. Dating, Military Volunteer Style

**Hey welcome back to this update's edition of Hearts' Desires. I acknowledge many people feeling restless and I would like to take this time to mention that I do still love Romy and Tabbietro and that is where this story will end up eventually. Though sit back and enjoy the unfolding of drama, you'll be gettin' quite a bit of it this story.**

**Disclaimer- In a communistic setting, everybody would own X-men Evolution. But alas I live in a democracy. So...Don't own anything. At all.**

"**When you assume you make an ass out of me and you." This is a quote somebody might bravely mention in casual conversation to Rogue, non?**

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The next afternoon Kitty came home out of breath and looking exhausted, but flashing two tickets to the ballet.

"Got em." She announced to Tabitha and Remy who were lazily taking up the couch in the rec room.

"Daccord." He mumbled. He still had yet to shake off the shock of yesterday's events.

"Thanks Kitty." Tabby said warily. She looked over at her Cajun escort for the evening uneasily. "Ya know Remy, I'd completely understand if you didn't want to do this. I spoke without thinking, and it's entirely up to you. I've gotten you into enough trouble."

He gazed down at her with a curious expression. "Chere, 's much as Remy 'preciate de sentiment, Remy not be mindin' accompanyin' such a jolie fille out fo' a night on de town." He smiled warmly. "B'sides, we all speak outta turn once in a while, neh? Remy t'ink of much worse punishments den a nice evenin' out wit' y'."

"Thanks Remy." She smiled serenely. "I am sorry, I really didn't mean to make things worse for you." She murmured quietly.

"S'alright." Remy waved it off. "We goin' t' de ballet."

"Like, glad to hear it." Kitty chirped. "Those weren't easy finds. And if the two of you were totally gonna ditch I would've like, kept em for me and Lance."

Remy nodded in respect to her.

"Remy get y' de money next week. T'anks petite."

Kitty shrugged. "Like, don't mention it. This can still go our way. It complicates it a little but don't worry. Rogue will totally come to her senses sooner or later."

"Y' t'ink so?"

"Like, totally. Besides, Pietro's a jerk. I don't think she can stand being in the same room with him very long. It'll like, be kinda interesting to see what she does to him." Kitty smiled reassuringly. Then she blinked. "Like, what are you two doing down here?"

"Y' alright petite?" Remy asked nervously. "We jus' talkin' t' y'."

"You two have a ballet in three hours and you are totally loafing on the couch! Why aren't you getting ready!" Kitty puffed up.

Remy looked at Tabby in panic. The blond shrugged.

"Like come on! You can't wear those ratty old clothes to a ballet. Tabby, you come with me. Remy, we'll meet you in your room when she's ready. I totally expect you to look good for this."

And with that she dragged Tabitha to the girl's dorms.

"Lets see, like, what do we have to work with here?" Kitty threw the closet door in Tabby's room open. "What's yours?" She asked surveying the walk in closet with appraising eyes.

"That section." Tabby pointed. "But...um...I really don't have anything too appropriate for something classy."

"Do you know where Amara is?" Kitty bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Yeah, she, Lorna, and Jubilee are at the mall dragging Bobby around."

Kitty nodded and removed her cell phone from her pocket and dialed quickly. "Hey Amara? It's Kitty. Tabby has a date tonight and I was wondering if she could borrow something of yours?"

Amara squealed in delight at the fact that her best friend had a date. "Well, I guess it's alright, as long as she promises to return it in decent condition. So who's taking her out? Where are they going?"

"Like, Remy's taking her to the ballet." Kitty giggled.

"Ohhh! Tell her to have fun. And also tell her that she's the luckiest girl in the mansion."

"Got it. Thanks. Talk to ya later." Kitty hung up and smiled. "You should fit Amara's stuff." She stepped up to Amara's dress selection. After a few moments browsing she smiled and pulled anavy dress from among the princesses fine clothes. "What do you think of this one?"

"Its nice." Tabby smiled. "Real silk. My girl has good taste."

"That she does." Kitty agreed. "So, like, wanna wear this one?"

Tabitha shrugged and reached for it. She took it into the bathroom shared by the four girls in the bedroom and changed. She grinned as she came out. "So? What do you think?"

Kitty smiled. "Like, its beautiful." She approached and adjusted the thin sparkly straps on her friend's shoulders and retied the silvery lace sash around Tabitha's waist.

Tabitha nodded in agreement and then headed to the door to go and fetch Remy.

"Like, where are you going?" Kitty darted in front of her.

"I was just going to go tell Remy I'm ready..." She raised an eyebrow.

"You're like, kidding, right?" Kitty gaped. "What about your hair and makeup and ...shoes? You can't just go to a ballet in what you have on!" Kitty explained

"Oh, yeah I guess you're right." She smiled sheepishly and sat back on her bed.

Kitty rolled her eyes and rushed from the room to get her kit. She came back in with a case of brushes and other hair accessories, and a manicure set. "Now I'm gonna like, do your nails first okay?"

Tabby nodded and handed the petite girl her fingers. Kitty skillfully filed the nails and covered them in a coat of silvery paint that cleverly disguised Tabitha's regular shade. "For shoes I'll bet Amara has something to match the dress." Kitty thought for a moment.

"You bet yer life on it." Tabby smirked. "Princess has 3 sets of shoes per outfit."

Kitty giggled. "Eureka!" She held up a pair of silver heels. "The heel's like, just about two inches, but you can walk on it without worrying. It looks classy and it goes nicely with the dress."

Tabby nodded and gingerly took the shoes, careful not to smudge her nails. She stepped into the shoes and smiled her approval. Kitty smiled softly and moved behind the blond to work on her hair.

"I, like totally, think your hair would be so pretty down in this outfit." She said cheerfully while brushing gently.

"Mmmm that feels nice." Tabby sighed as her friend worked the hairspray holding her hair into its normal flippy position out with the comb.

"Doesn't it though?" Kitty agreed. "I've, like, always thought that other people brushing my hair makes my troubles melt away."

Tabitha looked down at her still normal sized abdomen and frowned. "It helps a little I suppose. But c'mon! What girl doesn't like a little pampering now and then?"

Kitty frowned and finished the final touches on Tabitha's look. "C'mon. We totally have to go make sure Remy looks halfway decent." She giggled.

Meanwhile in the boys dorms, Rogue sat irritably on her date's bed. "Ya ready yet?" She called into the bathroom. "Ya been in there fo' two an' a half hours, sugah."

"I'll-be-out-in-a-minute." Pietro called.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ya said that forty minutes ago." It had taken her just fifteen minutes to slip into a long sleeved, hunter green dress, her combats, and to twist her hair up into a fancy knot. Her patience with Pietro had been slowly growing thinner from his whining protests earlier about the ballet, but this was pushing it.

Finally he opened the door and smirked.

"So what was Ah waitin' for exactly?" Rogue drawled giving his powder blue suit clad form a once over.

"You-cannot-tell-me-I-don't-look-perfect." He strutted over to her.

"Really ah don' understand what took ya so long." She examined her nails.

"You, Rogue, are-one-of-the-single-most-clueless-girls-I-have-ever-met. And-thats-saying-something-as-Wanda-is-my-sister-and-my-best-friend-is-stuck-on-Pryde." Pietro tutted and shook his head sadly.

Rogue narrowed her eyes. "Whateva. Ya finally almost ready?"

"Just-about." He winked and removed a tie from his dresser. He whipped it around his neck and started tying it. After a few failed tries he grinned sheepishly at Rogue. "A-little-help-here?"

She stared back blankly. "What, do ya think Ah know how ta do it?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "You-should. All-girls-know-how-to-tie-these-things."

She narrowed her eyes. "Ah'll tie it alright. An' then ah'll hang ya from the nearest oak tree, how's that sound?" She batted her eyes.

"Sheesh! Take-it-easy!" He backed away. I-just-figured-that-since-Boom-Boom-knows-how, anyone-can-do-it."

"Tabitha can tie ties?" Rogue asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah. She-did-all-ours-for-Sadie-Hawkins. Toad-Fred-Lance-and-me."

"Hm, Ah'da thought she'd be better at takin' em off." Rogue muttered under her breath. Then aloud. "So ya just wanna leave an' be tieless?"

"Rogue, it's a ballet. This-is-a-formal-occasion."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. What do ya propose to do?"

Pietro frowned. He zipped to his dresser and rummaged through it, finding nothing. Then an idea popped into his head and he zoomed to Fred's dresser. The top drawer held the prize he sought. He held it up proudly. "I'll-wear-this!"

Rogue crossed her arms. "If ya knew Fred had a clip on tie, why did ya waste time on one a ya own?"

"I forgot." Pietro shrugged, clipping it neatly onto his collar. "Blob's-neck-is-too-thick. Ties-make-him-feel-choked."

Rogue sighed, massaging her temples. "C'mon. We oughtta head out."

He mock saluted and gestured to the door.

Kitty and Tabby knocked on Remy's bedroom tentatively. Piotr opened the door, vaguely resembling a butler with his grim expression.

"Remy has been expecting you." He gestured for the two girls to come in. "You look very nice Tabitha."

"Thanks." The blond smiled shakily.

Kitty took the time to glance around the room. "Hey, like, isn't this Lance's room?"

"Well it is the room he sleeps in but he is not here right now." Piotr said simply.

"Oh." Kitty frowned. "Do you know where he is?"

"I believe he said something about fixing his transmission." The Russian shrugged.

Tabitha laughed. "If I didn't know better Kit, I'd say that he pays more attention to that old rust bucket than you." She winked. "I'd say you've got competition."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "I'm, like, not too worried Tabby. He's making sure its not gonna break down or something while we're driving you tonight."

Tabby nodded.

"Well well well, lookin' good Sheila!" Pyro wolf-whistled at Tabitha. "Ain' me mate Gambit the lucky one tonight?" He wiggled his eyebrows and gently clutched her hand, resulting in a giggle.

"Hands off m' date John-boy." Remy drawled from his seat at the desk near his bed with a good natured smirk. He rose and greeted Tabby with a nod as he removed her hand from Pyro's. "Shame on y' gittin yo' grimy paws all ove' de fille's hand." He shook his head and quickly kissed the back of her hand. "Beg y' t' fo'give de garçon, Tabby. He just don' know how t' behave in de presence of a lady. Y' look magnifique, chère."

She quickly scanned his body, impressed with the way his lithe body fit into the charcoal gray suit. "Thanks. You don't clean up too badly yourself Lebeau."

He smirked and shrugged. "Remy know."

"Egomanic." Kitty called, amused.

"You ready to go?" Tabby interrupted the retort he would have shot back.

"Gimme un minute." He held up a finger and reached for the fuscia tie on his desk surface.

"Need any help?" Tabby reached for the tie.

"Non t'ank y' peti'e." He chuckled and whipped the tie around his neck and tied it neatly. "Non need. Remy all ready."

Tabitha and Kitty both looked impressed. "You can tie those things?" Kitty asked amazed.

Remy looked confused. "Oui...Why y' ask?"

"You really are a god among mutants." Tabby groaned softly.

"Y' los' Remy." He tilted his head to the side.

"You're, like, the only guy around here who can." Kitty explained. "It's like such a rare thing to find in guys our age. I mean, even Lance needed help at the dance we went to..."

"Remy bin tyin' ties since he be bout eight." Remy raised an eyebrow. "Dey made m' do it fo' church an' fun'rals an' parties an' stuff an' m' tantie Mattie di'n' have time t' be tyin' ties on six li'l boys. B'sides had t' know how t' put de t'in' on aft' cookin' somethin' messy."

Tabby sighed and shook her head sadly. "You are too perfect."

He looked vaguely uncomfortable. "Y' wanna head out now?"

Tabitha shrugged and nodded mutely.

Kitty led the way out of the room and down to the garage. She approached the beat up green jeep and smiled affectionately.

Lance was on his back under it, working. "Argh. Almost got it...damn missed it...stupid lil...that's the ticket, come on now! Aha!" He said triumphantly.

"Like, hey Lance."

"Kit-Cat?" Lance's voice sounded excited and apparently he forgot the large jeep above him. CLONK

"OW!" He rolled out from under the jeep rubbing his forehead sheepishly. "Hey pretty Kitty."

Kitty giggled and smiled at him. He had a dark smudge across his cheek, tattered old work clothes, and his eyes were slightly crossed from the contact of his head with his jeep.

"Lookin' good Lance." Tabby catcalled and whistled with a smirk. "I can so see what you see in him Kit."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Funny. And to think I just fixed the brakes so they won't blow out as I drive you and Gambit at sixty to seventy on the highway."

Remy shrugged. "Woulda taken de fille on de Harley but it jus' ain' practical t' ride a bike in formals."

"Thanks again for helping us Lance." Tabitha said softly.

"Eh no problem Tabby. Kit and I are going out anyway, might as well play chauffeur." Lance smiled warmly. "Though I admit I didn't see this couple in a million years." He eyed the two skeptically before settling a frown at Remy. "I thought...what about Rogue?"

Remy looked uncomfortable so Tabby shook her head. "You mean the same Rogue whose out with your best friend?"

Lance's jaw hit the floor at the same time as the wrench he'd been holding. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"Well last night we learned that Pietro and Rogue are more than just teammates, former brotherhood members and X-men." Tabitha said in a slow voice. "She was all over him like the cheap spandex the professor makes our costumes from."

Lance was stunned and looked from Tabby to Remy to Kitty and back again waiting for one of them to tell him the punchline.

"Wha? Pietro and Rogue? Together? Together together!"

"That's what we figure yea." Tabby said slowly.

"But...huh? Since when!"

"Couldn't tell ya for the life of me." Tabitha sighed with a shrug. "All I know is last night we were heading up to talk to Rogue and we found her draped all over him. They made plans for tonight and then they kissed."

Lance's eyes were wide as plates. "Huh!"

He met Kitty's gaze and she shook her head. "She isn't making it up. Rogue was, like, totally in Pietro's lap and then they kissed." Her eyes were equally wide in her own disbelief. "Nothing happened. Nothing at all. No sparks, no flashes, no unconscious Pietro."

"She can control her powers?" Lance asked weakly.

"Like, not as far as I know. Maybe his molecules just move too fast to be effected or something." Kitty shrugged.

"But she's absorbed him before...and knocked him flat on his butt." Tabitha reminded gently. "That makes no sense."

Remy shrugged helplessly. Tabitha noticed the discomfort in his eyes and abruptly changed the subject. "So are we ready to take off?"

Lance noticed the change and nodded.

"Like, just let Lance change out of those grungy work clothes and then we can totally take off." Kitty promised. "And I need to get my coat so we'll be right back.

The pair disappeared and Tabby leaned against the jeep with a sigh. She closed her eyes and Remy watched her curiously.

"Y' alright Tabby?" He asked kindly.

"Yeah I guess. Just wondering how I caused so much extensive damage." She shrugged one shoulder. "For the record I never meant for anything like this to happen."

"Remy know dat petite." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked mournfully at her feet, staring balefully at Amara's silvery heels. "I can't believe all this is happening. I feel like it's all my fault."

Remy shook his head. "Don' blame y'self Tabit'a. Mebe dis happen no matter what any of us did."

Tears welled in her eyes and she spoke in a quiet voice. "You don't know that. Maybe if I'd never gotten into this situation things would have been different. I know they would be."

He stroked his chin pondering an answer. "Fille, dat may be true but we don' know dat. An' even if it is true, y' can' change de past." He sighed. "Believe Remy on dis un. He know."

She shrugged and looked helpless and vulnerable. So he quickly changed the subject. "So where y' wanna go fo' dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Oui. De place dat gonna give us food since we miss de big 'family meal' roun' here t'night. Remy take y' anywhere y' feel like eit'er befo' ou afte' de show."

She nodded in approval. "Would it be too much trouble to go before the ballet?" She asked hopefully. "I'm getting a little bit hungry and Baby didn't much appreciate it when I ate that egg salad for lunch."

"Non problem." Remy shrugged. "Jus' tell ol' Remy where y' wanna go t' eat. He take y' dere."

She closed her eyes in thought. "I don't know."

"Well, what sounds good t' y'?" He asked, trying to be helpful.

"If you must know I have a killer craving for jello...and sushi." She wrinkled her nose. "Don't ask me why."

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Well de on'y sushi place round Bayville be Stinky Jacks an' dat ain' somet'in' Remy'd let y' eat even if y' didn' have de bebe on de way. Oh wait, dey jus' opened dat new buffet place downtown. Remy hear dat dey got some decent food from differen' places. How bout dat? Y' can go an' eat yo' crazy foods, an Remy eat too on'y Remy cover de normal food groups, non?"

She shrugged with a smile and nodded. "Sounds good. And it's right near Worthington Theater too. So we'd be right at the ballet house after words."

"Cool. Remy tell de chaufeurs de plans."

"Tell us what, Gambit?" Lance entered the garage with Kitty at his arm.

"Like, yea what?" Kitty piped up.

"We figured where we want you taking us first." Tabitha replied. "There's a buffet up on West Road near the theater."

"Oh Dragonfly Buffet, right?" Lance smiled. "That place is pretty good."

"Like, he took me for my birthday." Kitty grinned at the happy memory. "It's so pretty and the food is like, totally amazing. I loved their egg rolls. And they had the like, cutest little goldfish pond ever."

Tabby snickered and rolled her eyes as Lance opened the door for everyone. "Thank you, kind sir."

Lance smirked at her. "You're quite welcome Ma'am." He hopped into his own seat with a chuckle. "So it's off to Dragonfly Buffet, eh? Good choice." He settled in and threw a driving cap onto his head. "Thank you for choosing Alvers transport service. I hope you enjoy your ride. Please make sure to fasten your seatbelts and make sure that your trays are in the locked and upright position. If something doesn't meet your expectations, please take it to the complaint department located just to the rear of the passenger seating. Have a nice day."

With that wise crack, Lance gunned it and shot toward the gate. Kitty squealed and Tabby shrieked in amusement. After a quick ride, the group ended up at the buffet about ten minutes later. They piled out and Remy was pleased to see the delirious smile on Tabby's face.

"Y' have fun, petite?"

She laughed. "Always do, Gambit. That's my rule in life."

"Bon." He nodded. He entered the restaurant and stepped up to the counter. "Table f' deux s'il vous plais." He smiled at the young guy behind the counter.

"Two for the buffet?" The kid asked. Upon receiving a confirming nod he rang up their total. "Seventeen twenty-three." He said politely.

Tabitha reached for her wallet but Remy gently slapped her hand away. "Don' y' dare! Firs' date, gen'lemen pays ou he ain' got no right t' call 'imself dat, non?"

"Ok Ok." She raised her arms. "I got the message." She let him pay and then cast confused eyes to his. "So this is a date then?"

"Dono what else t' call it." Remy shrugged with a coy grin. "Remy out t' dinner an' a show wit a jolie fille, ain' he?" He turned to the young clerk. "Wouldn' y' call dat a date?"

The young boy nodded. "I guess."

Tabby giggled and followed Remy to their table. She watched in fascination as Lance paid for himself and Kitty.

"Can I go eat now?" She suddenly pleaded with him, clasping his hand in both of hers and widening her eyes.

"Sho' t'in." He nodded. "Don' over do it dough."

"Ok." She nodded and slid out of her seat. He followed with a minor shrug toward Lance who looked somewhat amused at the same time as confused.

After a few minutes she returned to the table, with a plate Remy was surprised to note only had a modest portion of salad, a small spoon of Macaroni and cheese, a small dinner roll and two tiny bits of sushi.

"Way y' were talkin' Remy half expected y' t' set a chair up at de buffet tables." He joked.

"I was considering that." She nodded seriously. "But I figured this way works too."

"As y' wish petite." He shrugged and set his own food on the table. "Wan' Remy t' go get y'a drink?"

"Oh yes please." She grinned. "Can it be a double thick chocolate shake?"

He gaped at her. "Don' know if dey got dem here."

"Oh that's ok." She sighed then brightened. "Would ya mind doin me up a chocolate milk with a scoop of chocolate icecream?"

"Dat sound kinda rich..." He said dubiously.

"Please?" She begged, batting her baby blue eyes. He sighed, knowing she'd hit his weakness dead on.

"Daccord." He mumbled. "Whatev' y' say." He threw his arms up in surrender.

He arrived back at the table with her makeshift milkshake and a coke for himself. "Fo' de jolie fille." He set hers before her. "Et pour moi."

She raised her glass and saluted him with it before taking a healthy gulp. "Mmmm. Thanks so much." She closed her eyes happily.

"Y' sho' y' be alright drinkin' dat stuff?" He asked warily.

"Yeah, I bet Lance wouldn't be too thrilled if I puked all over his seats." She said thoughtfully.

He shook his head. "Non, I bet not."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." She smiled softly. "The concern is appreciated, just don't worry so much."

He nodded and resumed eating. The two managed to maintain an interesting conversation about how evil Logan's surprise five AM danger room sessions were. The two ate a relatively normal amount of food, though Tabby tried some funky things you couldn't have paid Remy to prod with his bo staff, eliciting his intrigue. He was most wierded out when she got some mashed potatoes and put chocolate syrup over them. She claimed it was actually pretty good, but he decided to trust her judgement on that one.

They finished and headed over to where Kitty and Lance were seated. The other couple was just finishing their ice cream. "Like, hi guys, ready to go?" Kitty asked as Lance put down his spoon.

"Oui but on'y if y' are." Remy said politely.

"Alright then, if Kit's ready we can head out." Lance rose to his full height. Kitty stood as well.

"Like, let's get going." She gestured for them to follow her. "The ballet awaits."

Lance got the door for everyone and they headed to his jeep. As they drove Kitty caught Tabby's eye in the mirror. "So like, how was it?"

Remy replied. "De food was good. Remy got good dinner and a belle view o' two belle filles." He winked at them. "He be a happy homme."

"So uh, what are we seeing?" Lance asked conversationally.

"Good question." Remy admitted.

"Well, you see..." Kitty twirled a lock of hair. "I hope nobody objects to seeing the Phantom of the Opera."

"Dat's a ballet?" Remy asked.

"Well I guess you can put anything to dance." Kitty shrugged. "Oh we're here!"

Tabby pulled the tickets from her purse and handed Remy his. "Thanks again for agreeing to this." She lowered her voice so Lance couldn't see. You know, you don't hafta if ya don' wanna."

"Remy know." He sighed. "Remy know. Remy wanna do it." He assured her. She looked up, eyes filled with emotion.

"I'm sorry for what happened. Really I didn't mean for any of this."

"Tabit'a, don' beat y'self up ov' dis, kay?" He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a gruesome little smile. "Y' got quite enough t' worry bout wit'out playin' repair fille fo' de relationship Rogue an' Remy never even had."

She sighed heavily and nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Now lets go watch dis ballet y' volunteered us fo'." He kissed the back of her hand and steered her to the ticket takers. Kitty pulled Lance over and the two disappeared into the crowd after being told where to meet them after the show.

Remy handed over the tickets and the finely dressed gentleman who took their tickets smiled courteously and showed them in. A concierge showed them to their seats. Kitty had somehow found managed to get box seats for them.

"Box D, seats fifteen and sixteen for the two of you and like, twenty two and twenty four for Lance and I." Kitty chirped as the doorman opened the door for Tabby and Remy.

"Oui." Remy agreed, sighing slightly. As much as he didn't want to hurt Tabitha's feelings, his heart simply wasn't into this whole thing.

She kept silent as they walked to their seats. He gently helped her remove her jacket and started to let his trench coat fall from his arms before his eyes widened in horror.

He had just noticed the person sitting in front of him and he was horrified. Her auburn hair was tied into an elegant updo, but her stark white bangs marked her identity. As if that wasn't confirmation enough, she was reading her program and muttering irritably at a young guy with platinum white hair who sat beside her.

Remy turned to Tabby, who looked just as shocked as he did.

She blinked, looked at the two before returning her focus to Remy and mouthed in silent shock. "We're in trouble."

♥♥♥

**Hehe I know many of you were expecting the ballet this chapter, but I figured that one will need to flesh out its own chapter, as you guessed it...more drama will unfold! I appologize if this chapter is kinda uckish. It's a filler chapter cuz next chapter I'm gonna put y'all on drama OD and I figured I should give ya a break. So yeah thanks to my dear reviewers!**

**JediTwitch- **Yeah, you can expect a lot of heartache in this story. Well, the way Rogue sees it, she's the only one who will look out for herself. Thus the inborn stubbornness. And look at her mother if you don't understand the mistrust. And I figured, well why shouldn't I be the omnipotent voice behind the curtain? Oz can do it, so can I. Hm, interesting. You may or may not be a precog. But revenge dates never go well. So bet your bottom dollar on that one. Kay, thanks for the review.

**NaijaStrawberrie- **Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing.

**Le Diable Blanc-** Well, yes Remy should be there. But Rogue's thinking he's just being a jerk, because the kind of environment she grew up made her not trust anybody. But don't worry, I can't keep them split forever. Thanks for the review.

**howlerdrode- **Oh don't worry, I'm not touching the abortion issue. Not at all other than having her know that its a possibility. I am firmly against that one, and just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. No worries there. Well, when Rogue gives somebody the opportunity to tell her she's being pigheaded, she'll obviously see things differently, however don't expect that to be too soon. Well I'm allergic to saccharine so that's prolly a good thing. Thanks for the review.

**Sweety8587-** Heh Heh...guessin' last chap got ya a tad riled up. Sorry for that...You don't really wanna break a tablet pen on me do you? Well thanks for reviewin!

**FluidDegree- **Sorry the update took so long, Yeah, the jealousy thing...I can see it snowballing from here. Can't you? Glad you love it so much. Thanks for the review.

**Shira's Song- **Hey that's alright, you managed to review before my update, which all things considered gives you a lot of leeway. I loved doing the chocolate thing. I've always wanted to include it in a story, so I jumped at the chance to sneak it in here. Oh yeah, Tabby's got some issues to work out, definitely. Ya to make Rogue listen you gotta prevent her from bolting. I'm thinking maybe it would take Fred holding her back, and Jean or somebody forcing her mouth shut. Ya, Tabby was in fact hurt by Rogue's dramatic statement, so she spoke without thinking, probably making the whole situation worse than it hasta be but that is what will make this all the more worth it. Glad you like it so much, thanks for the review!

**Nettlez-** Agreed. Roguey has a trust impediment and to be fair she did catch him 'with another girl' and so she did what came naturally with a mother like Mystique and plotted Revenge. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**ishandahalf- **Ah yes twisted vines of confusion shroud everyone. Lotsa misunderstanding and confusion in the mix. Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

**Masau- **I fully agree with you. Though truly it is not Remy's fault he wound up with a date. And just to clarify it's not all girls who do such crazy things, personally I don't think I would but maybe things would be different if I was an emotional superpowerhouse raised by an assassin. LOL I prefer to think of it as borrowed. But yes it is from Batman Begins. Thank you for reviewing.

**el diablo- **LOL glad you like it so much. I'm actually enjoying the strange couples I'm working with too. Shhh, don't tell anybody but I used to be a rabid rietro fan. Now, normally for the assumption I'd say a certain line of mine, but I seem to have this emotional disorder when it comes to always needing a happy ending with Romy tucked in even if they aren't central. And since I like Tabbietro randomly all of a sudden, well you can guess that will happen...eventually. LOL you have no idea how right you are. Awkwardness abound, eh? Yeah, can't imagine Rogue putting up with Pietro too long before snapping. You definitely seem to have the right idea about how things will turn out. Thanks for the review!

**Magcat**- Hey no worries, they will get together. Well I can guarantee some Lancitty sometime soon. But I have some mildly bad news about the Johnda. This story will be my first that isn't focusing on her so much. I still love her to bits and actually her time comes in the sequel to this story. However I'll try to slip a little flirting in for ya when I can. Thanks for reviewing!

**toxictouch727- **LOL don't worry, that happens to all of us sometimes. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**mia126-** Yeah, I suppose Rem and Lady Luck aren't speaking at the moment. And while that course of actions would add to the Romy and save on the Drama, it would also kinda force my plot into a starvation diet. So I guess we'll just all hafta suffer for now. Rogue's a bright girl, she'll eventually figure it out. Heck yes its real ice cream! I went on the Ben & Jerry's website to find a rich chocolate ice cream and the featured flavor fit so perfectly I was amazed. It's also really good ice cream, despite the fact that chocolate sadly makes me sick. Yeah, don't know how it feels to you guys, but I'm feeling like the director of a soap opera here. Well I honestly see Rogue as more of a 'do what I say and nobody gets hurt' kinda gal than a DID who purrs 'take me I'm yours.' Ballet is next chapter, I think it'll be fun. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Dis Chick Digs Da Fuzzy Dude- **Ah tech problems, gotta love em eh? (rolls eyes). Oh there's gonna be drama alright, you can bet your bottom dollar on that one. On another note, when you and Skysong gonna update 'The Cajun King'? Glad you like the story, thanks for reviewing!

**Rogue14- **Because its so easy, that's why. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Rogue gaL-** It'll be a little longer than that, but don't worry, Rogue will realize the errors of her ways. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**Black Cat of the Black Rose- **hey from what I hear you're going around as magic black cat now. Cool. Ok, glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**willow-** Aw, thank you. I am glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**Cat2fat900- **Hey it's alright, we all know that happens to all of us. Well, if you must take out vicious tendencies feel free to kill my OC from BID, Carmen. Nobody likes her, heck I don't even, and everyone seems to want her dead. Rogue will eventually find out the truth and she will feel like a heel. Glad you like it, thanks for reviewing!

**MentalAsylumEscapee-** Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**thriller- **Alas, Tabby decided to become the brunt of my drama for this story. Ok admittedly she didn't quite choose this action, but she got volunteered military style. And as for Rogue, well really she's not doing it to be a jerk, she just has several emotional disorders including trust issues. Can't entirely blame her though. I explained about the song thing in my email so yeah, there ya go. Glad you like it, thanks for the review!

**pLeAsE rEvIeW?**


	8. Revelations of the Problematic Variety

**Yipes it's 2006 already! Wow time's flying. Guess what everybody? I graduate in June. Then I go to college. Scary thought eh? But anyway it seems about time for an update in HD. After this I'll be working on that promised oneshot from Who Needs a Family Anyway and then it's back to Back In Diapers for my writing talent. I need to spend some time on college apps and scholarships stuff so don't count on that right away, but it will get up eventually, that I promise ya. In the meantime HUZZAH! read this the eighth chapter and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I think I'm a liticaphobic so please don't sue me so we can find out? I don't own X-men, evolution or otherwise.**

♥♥♥

Tabitha and Remy exchanged a panicky glance. Both knew that trouble would escalate when they were noticed. Rogue would take the opportunity to jump to more conclusions, this time dragging Kitty and Lance who had nothing to do with it into the argument. They both looked back to Kitty and Lance for support of some variety. Kitty shrugged apologetically. The show started in ten minutes, there was no way to really solve this problem now. Lance on the other hand was staring, dumbstruck at the sight of Rogue and Pietro together. They had to be the most unlikely couple he could think of.

"Pietro, quit ya damn fidgetin'. Ya makin' me nervous." Rogue scolded her escort.

"Sorry." He rolled his eyes. "You-know-I-don't-do-well-in-sitting-still-for-a-long-time-situations."

"How do gals put up with you long enough to last a whole date?" Rogue sighed. "Can ya at leas' calm down for ten minutes till the ballet starts?"

"It-isn't-starting-for-ten-whole-minutes?" Pietro groaned. "Kill-me-now!"

Tabitha swallowed a laugh and Remy was clearly amused by the younger boy's impatience as well.

"Maybe if we're quiet they won't notice us." Tabby whispered into his ear.

He nodded doubtfully. He could already hear the fight that would start when Rogue noticed them. She'd accuse them of stalking her or something.

They sat anxiously for a little while until the lights dimmed, signaling that the ballet was about to start. Remy sighed heavily in relief. It was far more unlikely that any trouble would occur while Rogue's attention was on the show.

About ten minutes into the show, Tabitha gently tugged on his sleeve. "Remy?" She whispered quietly. "I need a snack."

He looked at her strangely. "Didn' y' eat 'nuff at dinner, petite?"

She nodded, embarrassed. "I thought so. But...I think the baby's hungry." She smiled sheepishly. "Would you mind if I went and found a concession stand?"

He studied her face and shook his head. "Non, y' stay an' watch de show. Remy go git y' somet'in' t' eat."

"But-" She started.

"Remy non mind, p'ti'e." He whispered with a smile. "B'sides, what kinda date Remy be if he made y' pay fo' snacks?"

"But-"

"Non but, jus' tell Remy what y' wan'."

She rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing the case was closed. "Surprise me?" She asked quietly. He mock saluted her and quietly headed off.

Outside the seat box, he wandered the halls cluelessly in search of a concession stand. He cursed his luck as he could not find one concierge to help. Eventually he happened upon a fancy looking snack stand and he pondered the menu.

"What'll you have?" The young woman taking orders asked in a bored tone.

He hesitated. Tabitha had said to surprise her but he wasn't sure if there was anything she couldn't have in her current state.

"Um..." He looked cluelessly at the menu. The girl looked at him strangely. He gave her half a smile. "Mebe y' could help me..."

"Yea?" She asked curiously.

He took a deep breath. "De girl 'm here wit' want's a snack an' she told m' t' s'prise her but don' know what she'd want." The girl nodded slowly. "Oh an' she be expectin' if dat make any difference."

"Hm. I guess I'd recommend popcorn and something with chocolate." The girl said thoughtfully. "But then, that's about all we have."

"Okay, Remy take a large popcorn an' a Snickers an' a Milky Way." He ordered. "An' deux water bottles."

"That'll be $9.45 please." The clerk rang it up. He paid and she retrieved the snacks. "Enjoy the show."

He made his way slowly back to the section he and Tabitha had been sitting in and quietly reentered. His eyes darted to the front where Rogue and Pietro were sitting.

"Pietro Eric Maximoff, ya had best move that arm rahght now if ya wanna keep the option of eva havin' kids open." Rogue hissed as his arm crept over her shoulders. Remy felt a red hot flash of loathing for the younger mutant but it receded and that was tailed by a smirk as Pietro pulled his arm back in his normal super speed manner.

Remy made his way back to his seat and was going to proudly present Tabitha with her treats but found her sleeping soundly, using his trench as a pillow. He didn't have the heart to wake her up so he just let her sleep. He sat back down and began to watch the show.

He was surprised to find that the story pulled him in. He was getting into the whole story for a while. However, he nearly had a heart attack when something leaned into his shoulder. He jumped about two feet and looked at Tabitha with alarm in his eyes. He was quite relieved to notice she was still sleeping, her head leaned comfortably on his broad shoulder.

He settled back in to his seat and mentally chastised himself for freaking out. He refocused on the ballet. About half an hour later she woke up, and lifted her head quickly as soon as she realized where it had been. "Sorry." She stifled a yawn. "I guess I fell asleep." She whispered apologetically.

"Y' still hungry?"

"Yeah." She blushed a little, clearly embarrassed.

He rolled his eyes slightly and handed her the bag of popcorn. He removed both candy bars from his pocket and bid her chose which she wanted. She grabbed the Snickers and he tossed her a water bottle.

"Chocolate! You are my hero." She said appreciatively. He tensed before realizing that was merely her way of thanking him for the snacks.

She immediately started munching like she hadn't eaten all day an he watched with morbid curiousity. Shortly thereafter she returned her attention to the ballet. All of a sudden she clutched her stomach looking horribly nauseas.

"Remy!" She whispered franticly. "I need to get past you...now!"

"Int'mission be in five minutes, p'ti'e." He said distractedly, ingrossed in the story. "Remy go git y' anot'er snack den."

"It isn't that." She said frantically. "I hafta...I'm gonna..." With that she blanched and threw up violently. He jumped in the nick of time but his shoes didn't escape a little bit. Tears filled her eyes as she heaved again.

Remy wasted no time in dragging her by the hand into the hall where she collapsed to her knees, sobbing and spluttering weakly.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" She whimpered, unable to look at him. "I just..."

"Shhh." He said soothingly, kneeling down and rubbing her back. "It okay. Y' be alright. Jus' calm down, chere. Take a deep breat'."

She did and sniffled. "I feel so stupid." She said softly. "I am so sorry."

He tutted softly. "Y' couldn' help it, Remy shoulda moved his derrière when y' told 'im t' non?" He chuckled lightly and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Mebe dat woulda saved y' some dignity. It Remy who should be sorry, petite."

She sniffled again, not replying. She groaned and her eyes darted. "Is there a bathroom around here?"

He helped her up and gently steered her into a nearby ladies room. He leaned against the wall waiting for her. He sighed in pity. Her emotions were slamming into his empathy and right now she was a mess in every sense of the word. He could feel her shame, embarrassment, and confusion among several other things. He grimaced as his ears, sensitive from years of training and conditioning as a thief, picked up the sounds of her throwing up once again. But his heart melted when he noticed the sounds of muffled sobbing accompanying the heaving. She was crying.

He wondered if he should suggest leaving early. Sure the tickets weren't cheap, and his ride home was still watching the show but would it be fair to keep Tabitha here when she was so miserable?

He closed his eyes and pondered what he should do. After a moment or so a sixth sense or something forced his eyes open only to find himself gazing into an angry glare.

"What the hella yah doin' here?" Rogue snarled. Remy noted warily how very much she resembled her adoptive mother when angry.

"Waitin' fo' Tabit'a t' come outta de bat'room." He said warily, not wanting to start trouble.

"Ah meant what a ya doin' here. At the theater." She growled. She had apparently been spending too much time with Wolverine-she was acting too much like him.

"As Tabit'a tol' y' yest'day, Remy be seein' de ballet."

"Ah ain' stupid." Rogue snapped, crossing her arms. "What in the name of Hell were ya thinkin' bringin' her here?" Green eyes softened as she glanced at the bathroom door. "Ah'da thought anyone with half a brain would realize she ain' well enough ta be out."

Remy blinked, slightly stunned. "Wait...y' ain' mad Remy here? Y' ain' gonna go postal an' accuse de deux o' us o' spyin' or copyin' yo' idea or somethin'?"

She gaped at him. "D' y'all really think Ah'd freak out o'er that? Would somebody please tell me why nobody thinks Ah can' handle life any better way other'n pitchin' a hissy fit like a spoil'd five year old?" She threw up her arms.

Remy shrugged, feeling a little stupid.

Rogue looked at him sternly. "Seriously though, why'd you bring the gal out for anyways? She looks so mis'rable. Ah think ya'da both been better off stayin' home. That way she wouldn'ta had ta sacrifice her dignity like that."

"I wanted to go out, Rogue." Tabitha said softly as she stepped out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth subconsciously. "It's not his fault."

"Well he shoulda known better." Rogue said crossing her arms. "Ya, sugah, need ta be at home, restin', an' ya know that."

"I got plenty of time to rest." Tabby scoffed. "I needed to have a little fun. And besides the tickets were paid for and non-refundable. Besides Rogue, you need to lighten up. I'm fine now."

Rogue gave her a pitying look. "Sugah, ya just threw up at least twice. That ain' what people call fine where Ah come from."

Tabby shrugged and shuffled her feet. "I'm better now." She said in a small voice.

Rogue rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket. "Ah bet ya could use onea these." She handed the younger girl a packet of altoid mints.

"What so my breath smells now?" Tabitha frowned, a playful gleam in her eye.

"Exactly." Rogue nodded. "Besides, Ah know the afta taste of puke ain' fun."

A nauseas look came over Tabitha's face and she quickly excused herself to the bathroom.

"Now look what ya did." Rogue snapped at Remy.

"What Remy do now?"

"Ya make me sick."

"Huh?" Remy stared at her.

"Ya know what Ah'm talkin' bout." She crossed her arms.

"Non, actually Remy don'." He said honestly.

"Like Hell ya don'." Rogue snorted. "Bad enough she's only a kid herself havin' a baby, ya leavin' her all alone ta deal with it?"

He threw up his arms. "What ay' talkin' bout y' fou femme!" He snapped in exasperation.

"Ah'd think since ya the ass who obviously had a huge part in her making such a stupid choice ya'd at least care bout her an' the kid." Rogue spat.

"Okay Remy admit mebe he shouldn'ta let her have it but she de une who asked for it."

Rogue looked at him, disgusted. "Yo' just a pig without self-control, Gambit." She growled coldly.

"It was only one f-ing candy bar fo' de love of Dieu!" Remy snapped back at her.

"What?" She looked genuinely confused.

"Are y' an' Remy talkin' bout de same t'ing?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Ah think so." Rogue wrinkled her nose.

"Non, Remy t'ink we be on two separate pages...mebe two diff'ren' books at dat."

She may have replied when the bathroom door opened. Tabitha sniffled and the two arguing Southerners turned to her. She was pale and shaking slightly and twin tear streaks lined her face.

"Remy, I...I don't feel good anymore." She said in a tiny and very fragile sounding voice.

"Ya poor gal." Rogue said sympathetically.

"Y' wanna go home, petite?" Remy asked kindly.

She bit her lip and nodded once, very quickly before averting her eyes. "I'm really really sorry. I can just call a cab or something if you want."

Remy looked thunderstruck. "Perish de t'ought. We came t'get'er, we be leavin' t'get'er. Y' wait right here an' Remy go tell Av'lanche et Kitty dat we leavin', daccord?"

"Kit an' Lance are here too?" Rogue raised an eyebrow. "What, is the whole mansion out spyin' on me an' Pietro?"

"We didn' come t' spy on you." Remy said firmly.

"Oh? Ah suppose y'all just happened ta sit behind us on accident, huh?" Rogue's voice gained an icy tone.

"Actually dat be exactly what happened." Remy said with a curt nod. "Yo' roommate bought de tickets, not Remy."

"Prolly cuz ya wouldn' have paid for 'em otherwise." Rogue retorted with a sneer.

Remy was stunned by that. "Dat hurts Rogue. I'm not just a thief y' know."

She was so worked up she didn't pick up on his first person reference. "Yeah, yo' also a womanizin', dirty, rotten, jerk. If Ah didn' know betta Ah'd say all them people done called you a demon gotta be right. What else could ya be with those eyes and that devil may care attitude ya got goin."

He growled. "Den dat makes y' what? De love-chil' of Pepe Le Pew, an Akasha, Queen o de damned?"

White-hot rage pumped through Rogue's blood. "How dare ya? Ya ain' even got any clue what Ah bin through. What makes ya think ya got the right ta-"

"Well who de Hell is t' blame fo' dat!" He snapped. "Y' push everyone away an' rationalize an' blame yo' f-ing powers but really it just y' pushin' anyone who tries t' get close cuz yo' so damn afraid y'll git hurt." He snarled. "Don' even try denyin' it. We bot' know its true." The look on her face told him, too late, he'd gone too far.

"Go ta Hell." Rogue hissed and stormed back to the seat box.

Remy followed her retreat with his eyes before groaning and leaning back. "Remy just blew it, huh."

"Big time." Tabitha nodded, massaging her temples.

Remy beat his head against the wall in frustration. "'M so incredibly stupid! Why'd Remy lose it like dat?"

Tabitha shrugged. "She wasn't exactly in line either." she defended. "But yeah Kitty and I have our work cut out for us now. Least I won't die of boredom before Baby gets here."

Remy sighed miserably. "Remy be his own wors' enemy when it come t' dat femme. Mebe dis be a sign dat me an' her jus' ain' meant t' be."

"Oh no you don't." Tabitha warned. "Don't you go thinking that way, now. So you messed up, news flash, it happens to the best of us." Tears filled the twin sapphires in her eyes. "Please don't give up?"

"Remy must be a glutton fo' punishment." He sighed.

"No. You just love Rogue." Tabby said simply. "Admittedly we gotta lotta work ahead of us to deal with her ...special personality but it can be done. All we need to do is get her to accept herself, accept that people can actually like her for her, get rid of that pesky no touching thing, and convince her this isn't your kid before we can get anywhere for real, but there is hope."

He gaped at her for a few moments. "Why don' y' add repeal de law of gravity, slow the speed of light, reanimate the dead, an' colonize de sun t' dat list?"

"Don't whine." She said sternly. "Are you willing to go the distance for her or not?" She paused. "Are you a Cajun or a kitten?"

He opened his mouth with a wise crack ready but she was faster. "And I happen to know Rogue hate's cats but does have a rather well hidden affection for anything Cajun."

He half-smiled and nodded. "C'mon Tabit'a. Let's go git our coats. Remy tell de chauffeurs dat we non need 'em t' take us home." He gently led the way. They entered quietly but the thirty minute intermission had already begun. They wove their way to their seats to collect their coats. Remy nodded and made his way up to Lance and Kitty.

"Is she alright?" Lance asked, concern in his voice. Remy recalled that he knew nothing about the baby or any of the mess surrounding it.

"Non, actually." Remy shook his head and both Lance and Kitty looked alarmed. "She ain' feelin' so hot righ' now. She wanna go home. But Remy don' wanna ruin the night fo' y' deux. We call a cab. Jus' wan'ed t' tell y' so y' din' look fo' us."

"Are you, like, sure?" Kitty asked tentatively. "I mean, we totally wouldn't mind leaving to bring you guys home."

Remy shook his head. "Non, y' two stay. Enjoy de show. Remy make sure de fille get home safe."

Kitty nodded and handed over her cell phone. "Here, you can call Scott or something."

"Remy'd rather not." He said with a sigh. However she had already taken off to go talk to Tabitha. He looked at Lance and rolled his eyes.

"I can't say I blame you." Lance chuckled before growing serious. "Seriously is she gonna be okay?" He glanced at Tabitha, chatting feebly with Kitty.

"Remy don' see why not." He shrugged. "Wit' a lil rest she be fine...Remy t'ink."

Lance nodded. "So what happened with you and Rogue?"

A lump formed in Remy's throat. "What y' mean?"

"Well, I thought you were crazy for her." Lance said, remotely puzzled. "I mean, just the other night Kitty was out on the lawn planning your wedding for crying out loud!" Remy gulped and looked uncomfortable. "Then next thing I know, you're taking Boom Boom out to dinner and a ballet. I guess I just don't understand it."

"Remy c'mpletely unde'stand what y' comin' from." He rolled his eyes.

"What happened when she followed you and Tabitha into the hall?"

Remy sighed. "Y' figure it out an' y' a wiser homme den Remy, Alvers."

"So basically you argued."

Remy nodded the affirmative. "Not too sure why. She said some t'in's, lost m' temper, an' said some t'ings dat upset 'er. She stormed off."

Lance nodded sagely. "I guess that explains that then." He gestured down to the front row and Remy wondered how he missed what he was seeing when he had come into the balcony.

He gaped at Rogue, or rather the back of her head. She was sitting facing the stage and her knees were pulled up to her chin. The casual observer might not notice the tears slowly crawling down her face but Remy had spent a lot of time studying her face. Even at this distance he could put that, the slight smudge of her mascara, and the silent shuddering of her shoulders together and derive that she was crying. It pulled at his heart because he knew it was his fault she was upset.

Apparently, Pietro was trying, and failing rather miserably, to comfort her...or at least find out what was wrong.

"C'mon-Rogue. What-happened-out-there?" He said in a surprisingly soothing voice.

"Ah don' wanna talk 'bout it." Rogue sighed. "Ya wouldn' unde'stand."

He rolled his eyes. "Mostly-because-you-won't-tell-me."

"Pietro, could ya mind ya own damn business?" She sighed again.

"News-flash-Rogue. You're-my-date, you're-crying, thus-it-is-my-business." He frowned. "What-happened?"

"Ah'm fine." She insisted.

"No, you're lying." He gave her a look. "I-know-you-Rogue. You-don't-upset-easily. Something-is-wrong, you-don't-cry-for-no-reason."

"You should make that call." Lance said, snapping Remy out of his haze. "Call a cab or Kitty'll have Summers here for you."

Remy shook his head to clear it and nodded before dialing. He kept narrowed eyes focused on Rogue and Pietro as the former continued to deny there was a problem. He requested the cab arrive at the Warrington theater as soon as possible and then hung up, inspecting Kitty's Hello Kitty plated cell phone. "Dey say dey send s'meone right ov'. Is ev'r't'in' yo' gir'frien' owns pink?"

"Pretty much." Lance laughed. "So you and Tabby are taking off then?"

"We gotta. De fille ain' feelin' tres bien." Remy shook his head. "Remy make sure she get s'me food 'n' fluid int' her den he get her int' bed." Lance's eyes bugged and Remy rolled his eyes. "Meant her own bed, Alvers. Remy ain' gonna take advantage o' a pauvre sick fille."

Lance nodded, mildly embarrassed. "Yeah, I guess I just kinda...took it the wrong way, ya know? I mean well, it didn't sound too innocent, especially coming from you."

"De reputation precedes Remy." He said simply. His tone implied that a while ago he would have considered this a compliment but the minor wince revealed that he was sorry that was the case now. "Better go give back de cell an'

"Well ok. Catch ya later." Lance called to Remy who nodded and headed towards Tabitha.

"Y' ready t' go, p'tite?" He whispered into her ear. She turned from her hushed conversation with Kitty, rubbing unconsciously at her tear-streaked eyes and nodded.

"De cab be here soon. T'ank y' fo' de use o' de cell Kitty." He saluted.

"Like, no problem." Kitty smiled taking her phone back. She turned to Tabitha. "We'll, like, worry about it later. Don't worry. Now go home and get some rest. You totally have to feel better soon, you know?"

Tabitha smiled and nodded. "I'll do that." Remy put her coat over her shoulders and she slid her arms into the sleeves. "Catch you later, Kit."

"Like, bye." She headed up to Lance again as Remy gently escorted Tabitha to the door. Before exiting he turned back to Rogue and Pietro for a brief moment, a little helplessly. Tabby followed the lost look in his eye and sighed plaintively, before placing a hand on his arm and pleading with her eyes.

He shook his head, breaking the spell and headed out the door silently. Tabitha glanced briefly at the unlikely couple and sighed before following Remy.

"It's-Gambit-isn't-it?" Pietro asked Rogue all of a sudden. She looked up, shocked.

"Why would ya say that?" Rogue scowled.

"What'd-he-say-to-you?" Pietro asked, ignoring her question entirely.

"Nothin'." Rogue lied, averting her eyes.

"Rogue, you-always-were-a-horrible-liar." He rolled his eyes. "No, he-said-something-that-hurt-you-when-you-followed-him-and-Tabitha-into-the-hall."

Rogue said nothing, but her silence confirmed his belief more than any words could deny it.

"What'd he say?" Pietro took her gloved hand, concern in his eyes. She flinched at the touch but didn't pull her hand away.

"He said a lot bout how Ah wouldn't give him a chance because Ah'm scared." She mumbled, deliberately not looking at him for fear he had that cheesy smirk of his on his face.

There was silence for a few moments before she narrowed her eyes angrilly. "Ah know what you're thinkin'. Ya think Ah'm jus' bein' stupid, cause ya think he's got it right."

She dropped her feet to the floor and glowered at him, daring to disagree.

"Actually, I-was-just-a-little-surprised-how-much-you-really-like-the-guy." He admitted honestly. Her jaw dropped. "Look, don't-even-start-with-me-Rogue. Your-eyes." He said simply.

"What bout ma eyes?" She growled.

"They-tell-what-you-are-actually-saying." He stared pointedly at her, slowing his speech down to convey his seriousness. "They always have." He pondered the whole situation. "I didn't see what the big deal was at first, why you had to have me come here with you. It hurts you to see him with her."

She gaped at him, stunned. "Ah...Ah dunno what ya talkin' bout."

"No you do." He shook his head. "Its just like what Wanda did with Toad. She pushed and pushed and pushed him away because she didn't want to get hurt. You're doing the same thing."

"Ya wrong." She said weakly.

He merely shook his head. "You know I'm not." He sighed. "The shows coming back on. We'll talk after."

Meanwhile a cab arrived for Tabby and Remy who were waiting outside for a short time.

"Where to, kid?" The driver asked in a gruff voice as the door opened. "Off ter a fancy dinner some place downtown? "He asked upon seeing their nice clothes.

"Non t'ank y'...Larry." Remy said after quickly glancing at the name card taped to the back of the seat. "De fille ain' feelin' too hot so we call it a night."

Larry nodded. "Ah say no more, I fully understand." He winked at Remy. "So, if ol' Larry identifies ya c'rectly, that there's a Cajun accent. You from the South?"

"Yessir." Remy inclined his head. "Lou'siana."

"I mighta guessed it." Larry chuckled. "So which hotel you kids staying in?"

"We ain' at a hotel, m'sieur." Remy quickly corrected. "De address be 1407 Graymalkin Lane. Y' know where dat is?"

The cabbie chuckled. "Sure do sonny." He started the car. "You don' mind me smoking do you?" He called into the backseat.

Tabitha was about to say he could go right ahead but Remy cut her off. "Sorry Larry, we'd 'preciate it if ya didn'. Ain' terribly healthy fo' de babe."

The cabbie nodded. "Expectin' are ya? Good for ye. Greates' show of optimism, that, bringing kids into the world. Congrats."

Tabitha smiled uneasily and shifted closer to Remy.

"Okay well this is going to be about a half hour ride. The radio can't hurt the kid, eh?"

"No that's fine." Tabitha said. She had forgotten till Remy mentioned it that cigarette smoke was bad for babies. She wondered if there was any other information likely to slip her mind, and then she wondered how the heck he of all people knew that. When he first got to Xavier's he'd been smoking at least two entire packs a day.

As of recently he'd quit pretty much cold turkey and she figured that Rogue had a lot to do with that. The rumor was she'd once said casually in passing that she admired anybody who could quit 'that damned habit like a man' and word got round to him. Nobody knew if that was true or not, but Rogue had made it clear she hated smokers from Day one.

Not that that would stop half the kids in the mansion, or Logan in any case from continuing to smoke in the building. Pyro had picked it up from Remy, because it gave him a legitimate reason to carry a lighter, Emma Frost did it mostly to annoy her roommate Betsy Braddock and her competition in winning Scott's affections, his wife Jean Grey-Summers; while Wanda claimed smoking soothed her nerves.

Tabitha shook her mind from the wandering thoughts and brought herself to smile up at Remy. Wow he was a lot taller than she was. She wasn't exactly short for her age, being 5'7" but still he towered over her. And his shoulder was so broad, and warm, and comfortable...

Remy watched her eyes close as she snuggled her head into his shoulder. He had the vaguest of feelings she had deliberately chosen his body as a pillow but decided to just let her be. After all, she wasn't hurting anybody and she seemed comfortable.

"Long day?" Larry asked conversationally.

"Oui, y' could say dat." Remy agreed, gently wrapping his arm around Tabitha so she wasn't crushing his arm. She stirred but didn't wake up.

"She's certainly a pretty thing." Larry commented.

Remy took a moment to glance at her. The driver had a fair point. She wasn't overly scrawny like most other blonds her age. She was pretty, in the way that a year ago would have earned her the privilege of being charmed into his bedroom. But right now, he didn't want that, and it was about the last thing she herself needed at the moment.

"1407 Graymalkin Lane, huh? You kids staying with that Xavier fellow?"

"Uh oui." Remy said uncomfortably, not knowing this man's stand on mutants.

"Great man' he is." Larry continued. "Taking in all those mutant kids who need his help, Lord knows we need more like him in this crazy world."

"Def'n'tly." Remy agreed, relief washing over him.

Meanwhile at the mansion, Scott was pacing around his bedroom nervously. Jean, seated at her vanity and brushing her hair, was trying to calm him down.

"They're going to be fine, Scott." Jean laughed lightly.

He turned to her. "I want to believe that Jean, really I do." He sighed. "It's just I don't trust them."

She looked at him sharply. "And what have they done to prove untrustworthy?"

"It's not any of the girls." He assured her. "But Gambit? Quicksilver? Alvers!"

Jean rolled her eyes. "Look Scott, Tabitha, Rogue, and Kitty are all fully capable of choosing who they date."

"But why can't they just choose somebody decent for a change?" Scott ranted. "All three of those guys have served under Magneto for cripes sake! They can't be trusted!"

Jean sighed. "Scott, you know they all had their reasons. Lance didn't have anywhere else to go, Remy was only there because he and his teammates were being blackmailed, and Pietro is the man's son. You can't hold his parentage against him."

"That makes him all that much less trustworthy, Jean." Scott shook his head. "The man is one of our worst enemies. We can't just trust that his son is any different."

Jean frowned. "Do you really believe that?"

"You know it's true." Scott crossed his arms. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Jean set down her brush and turned to face Scott, a look of disbelief etched onto her features. "Are you sure of that, Scott? Really sure that's how you feel?"

He looked smug. "Yeah."

"You labeled Magneto as one of our worst enemies, well I'm sure you know somebody else to add to that list." She took a deep breath, not allowing him to reply. "Do you know who adopted Rogue? Do you know who raised her like a mother?"

Scott's smirk slipped. "That's different."

"How so?" Jean snapped. "I suppose you'll say it's because Rogue was just adopted. Well how bout Kurt. You know who his mother is. You know very well who both of their mother is. Is Rogue not trustworthy? Or Kurt?"

Scott's jaw hung open.

"Rogue and Kurt are valuable members of our team, who've saved your butt more than you'll admit, and beyond that they are our friends. But if you're going to hold that standard for Pietro and Wanda, you have to hold it for Rogue and Kurt."

Scott narrowed his eyes. "I never said anything about Wanda. And Rogue and Kurt are nothing like Pietro."

"How do you know?" Jean sighed. "You never gave him a chance. You've never given him, or Lance, or Remy a fair chance to prove that they aren't what you think they are."

Scott scowled darkly. "People like that don't deserve a chance."

She sighed again. "Scott that isn't fair."

"Life's not fair, Jean." He shook his head. "But what have any of those guys done to prove me wrong?"

"How about making your friend's happy?" Jean's voice quavered. "Haven't you ever seen the way Kitty's eyes light up with happiness when Lance walks into a room? And Rogue...did you know she used to cut herself? She started after that major meltdown she had. That's why she was hospitalized for so long, Mr. McCoy was giving her counseling as well. But when Remy joined, the thought never crossed her mind again. And well, Pietro has quite the following around here. His flirting has even put a blush on X-23's face." Jean smiled wistfully.

"And that's exactly why we need to be careful with him." Scott argued. "The girls around here are all so naive. He's a heartbreaker, and he always will be." He sobered. "I don't want to see my teammates get hurt. Or worse. As it is Tabitha is out of commission. Do we want any other female teammates in that situation?"

"Shhh, please Scott. You know she doesn't want everyone knowing that yet."

"Newsflash Jean, that's exactly the kind of secret that won't stay that way for long." Scott rolled his eyes behind his shades.

"I know that." Jean gazed at him warily. "I just think she has the right to tell everybody when she's ready."

Scott gave her an irritated look. "Well if it isn't soon, her body'll do the talking for her."

Jean looked away. "I know that and so does she. As it is, she is very afraid. Scott, she's only seventeen and now she's terrified and confused. She's little more than a baby herself."

"Well she's old enough to get herself pregnant." Scott said disapprovingly. "If she wasn't ready for a baby she shouldn't have been sleeping around, now should she have?"

Jean sighed again. "I know that too Scott. And I think she does too. Problem is, it's a little late for that piece of advice for her."

"Now you see why Kitty and Rogue shouldn't be out with walking STD's like Alvers, LeBeau, and Maximoff?"

Jean's eyes flashed. "So now you're doubting Kitty's morals?" She paused to glare. "And even worse you're making assumptions about our teammates that clearly aren't true? Scott, even if Lance had any experience in that field, he certainly wouldn't push Kitty to sleep with him. He loves her for her, not what she will or won't do with him. As for Rogue, she has her powers to prevent that as of right now, and I don't think she'd be willing to just hop into bed with somebody she spends most of her time hating, do you?"

Scott rolled his eyes again. "That's the thing Jean, I would have thought that you. The second best telepath in the world, would recognize that she doesn't hate Gambit."

"That's where you're wrong." Jean shook her head. "As of really recently, she's been wishing him dead in some rather creative ways that I wouldn't dare repeat this close after dinner. Besides, she isn't out with Remy tonight."

Scott's jaw dropped. "Then who...?"

"She asked Pietro to take her to the ballet." Jean smiled for a moment before taking a seat at her vanity once again.

"How in the name of Bayville did that happen?"

"Well, she just went up to him and asked him. Admittedly she was rather more demanding and forceful than need be but-"

"What happened with her and Gambit!" Scott interrupted.

"Well they had somewhat of a disagreement and-" She screwed up her nose. "That's odd." She moved to the window. "A taxi here at this time."

"I'll bet its either Rogue, Kitty, or Tabitha because their date was horrible." Scott said hopefully.

"Scott!" Jean chastised. "No it's not." She said firmly. "Wait, no you're partially right, it's Tabitha, but she has Remy with her." She said as she sensed their presence. "I'm going to go see what's up." She turned to the door.

"Can't you just read their minds?" Scott asked irritably.

She looked shocked. "Scott, you know I'm not supposed to do that without their permission. And in any case, I stay away from Remy's mind. He doesn't like telepaths prodding around in there so he has a rather unique method of defense against it."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "What, like mental blocks?"

Jean shook her head. "No, more like a mental picture." She blushed a little. "A weird one, that most people would rather not see. (1) He throws it up as soon as he senses a telepath trying to look around in his head."

She walked out of the bedroom she shared with her husband and made her way downstairs. Scott huffed and followed her.

Outside the mansion, Remy climbed out of the cab after paying their fare and looked at the blond who had formerly been using him as a pillow. She was still fast asleep, and he hated to wake her, but they were home.

"Tabby, Tabby, c'mon chere, we be home." He shook her shoulder gently.

"Mmm, just five more minutes." She begged sleepily.

Remy exchanged a glance with Larry and sighed softly. "C'mon Tabby, y' keepin' de nice cabbie waitin'."

She didn't respond so he reached into the cab and unbuckled her. After no response, he gently leaned in and picked her up and out, as if to carry her inside. Instinctively she snuggled close to his warmth. She mumbled something incoherently in her sleep and buried her face into his chest.

He shifted her weight and it didn't pass his notice that she was relatively light. He moved up the stairs and stared at the door as the cab driver drove away. He bit his lip pondering how he was going to open the door while making sure Tabitha didn't fall, when all of a sudden, Jean opened the door.

"Oh my, what happened?" Jean put a hand to her mouth.

"De homme called it mornin' sickness oughta be rottin' in Hell." Remy said with a nod. "She don' feel too well, so Remy bring de fille home."

"What'd you do to her Gambit?" Scott asked angrilly, wanting to make himself heard.

"Remy di'n' do anyt'in' t' her, Cyclops." Remy met the challenge in Scott's voice. "She t'rew up a couple times an' fell asleep on de way home."

"I'm so sorry. We would have come and picked you guys up if you called." Jean sounded apologetic.

"No need." Remy shrugged. "Remy can afford a taxi every now'n'en."

"Not like you pay for anything anyway." Scott pointed out.

Remy looked insulted.

"That was uncalled for Scott." Jean said disapprovingly.

"Non, let de garçon speak what he t'inkin' Jeannie. Let 'im t'ink what he want t'. Don' change de fact dat it ain' true, but it make y' husband feel better bout 'imself an' 'is insecurities. Sticks an' stones, non?"

Scott glowered and crossed his arms, sulking silently.

"But dat be neit'er here nor dere. Remy need t' get Tabby up t' her bedroom. Po' t'in' needs t' git 'erself some sleep."

Jean smiled. "That's nice of you. Its room seven in the girls' wing. Two down from Rogue, Wanda, and Kitty."

"Merci." Remy said gratefully. "Remy jus' gonna bring 'er up dere den retire fo' de evenin'."

"Maybe I should do it." Scott interrupted. "Guys aren't allowed in the girls' wing for a reason." The glare on his face added nonverbally "and you're it."

Remy gave him a disgusted look. "Remy ain't ever takin' advantage o' a fille an' don' intend t' start now, Cyclops. Shame on y' fo' t'inkin' dat, garçon."

Remy started towards the stairs but Scott got in his way.

"I mean it, LeBeau. She's got herself in enough trouble without your help. Or maybe it is your fault, I don't know, and she probably doesn't either."

Much to Scott's surprise, Remy shifted Tabitha's weight and slammed a fist into the team leader's jaw.

"Y' can say whatev' de f-in' Hell y' want bout Remy, but y' do y'self a favor an' leave de fille outta it. Remy not gonna take dat one lyin' down. S'on'y a coward picks on lil girls." Remy's voice was low, almost a growl. If he was a dog his hackles would be raised and his ears would have been pinned against his skull. The effect was completed with the flashing of his demonic eyes.

Scott backed up, massaging his jaw. He sneered. "Don't waste your time acting all chivalrous for _her_ sake Gambit. She's hardly worth the trouble you'll find yourself in."

Remy snarled ant pushed roughly past him. "Remy deal wit' y' later, Summers. Y' wanna mess wit' de Gambit, bring it on."

Jean looked in horror from her husband to Remy who had started moving up the stairs. She could practically see the steam rising from his neck but he kept going at a decent and steady pace. Though from her angle, she noticed that Tabitha's grip on Remy's shirt was tighter than it had been previously. She could feel the waves of misery roll off the girl who had obviously heard at the very least one of Scott's rude comments. She turned bewildered to her husband.

"What was that all about, Scott?" She asked softly.

"Just shut up Jean, you aren't a part of this. It's between me and him." He snapped as he stared after Remy's retreating back. A moment later he realized he'd spoken aloud and turned to Jean, perhaps to apologize.

Her eyes were wide and pooled and with tears intermingled with her horror. She gasped and took a step back as he reached toward her. With no prerequisite warning she flew, quite literally, up the stairs and into their shared room. Scott dashed after her only to hear the lock on the door click in his face. She had telekinetically locked it behind her and his heart sunk as he heard his wife crying softly behind the door. He slumped down by the door and decided to wait there until she let him in again.

By the time Remy reached Tabitha's room, he was rubbing her back and whispering softly to her in French as she was crying. She hadn't made a sound to indicate it, but the wet patch on his dress shirt and the twin streams from her eyes confirmed it.

He gently reached over and opened the door to the room, continuously muttering soothingly to her in French. As he stepped in with her in his arms, her three roommates fell silent and gaped at the sight before them.

Remy tenderly set Tabitha down on her bed and leaned in close. "Don' let anyt'in' dat fou piece de merde said git t' y', okay, chere?"

She nodded mutely and he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Bon nuit, Tabitha."

With a smirk and a half bow, he exited the room. Tabitha sat on her bed, stunned. And her roommates crowded around with delirious excitement on their faces.

"Oh my gosh, Tabby, you so have to tell us everything!" Amara grinned.

"Like totally! How did everything go?" Lorna squealed.

" Spill girl!" Jubilee prodded. "We need details chica!"

Tabitha blinked and rubbed at her eyes quickly to erase her tears. "I think I'm going to bed early tonight." She managed. She climbed off her bed and moved to her dresser. She grabbed a set of neon pink pajamas and moved to the bathroom to change.

"Nooo!" Lorna groaned. "You can't do this to us!"

Tabitha smiled and closed the bathroom door and started changing.

Jubilee leaned against the door and sighed. "C'mon girl, at least tell us what you guys did?"

Tabitha smiled to herself and called through the door. "He took me to the Dragonfly Buffet and then we saw the Phantom of the Opera ballet."

"You are so the luckiest girl in the mansion." Lorna sighed dreamily. "I'd pay big money to have gotten to sit close to him, and hold his hand, and have him carry me into my bedroom..."

Tabitha blushed as she pulled on her pajama top. "He carried me in because I fell asleep on him in the taxi."

Tabitha was very thankful that she had the sanctuary of the bathroom. She knew all three girls were staring at the door with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Tabitha, details..." Jubilee called.

Tabby stepped out of the bathroom and shook her head before tossing the dress and shoes to Amara. "Guys, I'm really tired. I really need to call it a night. Please?" She pleaded and got no response. "I promise I'll sit through the date interrogation tomorrow morning?"

"Well ok." Amara sighed. "But you have to answer every question. No passing and no avoiding. And we'll get Betsy to read your mind and see if you're lying." The younger girl promised.

Tabitha nodded and climbed into her bed, snuggling deep into the warmth of her neon green comforter.

"Oh my gosh!" Lorna squealed again. "Amara's dress smells like Gambit's cologne!"

Tabby rolled her eyes, smiling softly. She turned away from her roommates and brought her hand to the spot his lips had touched her forehead. She sighed in wonder. Treacherous thoughts crawled into her mind. She wondered what that kiss would have felt like against her lips instead of her forehead.

Instantly she flushed and shook her head. She was helping him get to Rogue. He practically worshipped Rogue. It wouldn't be right to move in on the other girl's territory, would it?

But then again, a voice in her mind reminded her as she drifted off to sleep. Remy was technically single, and would Rogue even miss what she never had?

♥♥♥

1- Actually canon info. Remy hates telepaths and pulls up an image of Blob in a molecularly unstable costume after the effects of Pyro and Storm hit him. Apparently this wards away telepaths with the side effect of them determining he's somewhat of a weirdo...

**Mmmm yes, fresh can of worms anybody? So who saw that one coming, raise your hands. Well now we have a whole new issue to deal with. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I bought an instruction manual. It also covers business principles as set forth by the Japanese. Only trouble is...I can't read Japanese. So I guess you'll just have to trust me on this one. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, next up is the one shot I promised after I did 'Who needs a family anyway' and then we're onto BID so please read and review!**

♥♥♥

♥**HH♥**

_**completed January 30,2006**_


	9. Night in Sweaty Under Armor

**Grins sheepishly Hey there guys, long time no see...admittedly that would be on me though. I have valid excuses really! A whole lot has happened since I last updated (24 Hours on June 18) I graduated high school for starters, let me tell you I feel so much older now...just looking at the ickle freshmen makes me wonder if my class was that little too...And then, I started my summer job. I was working with the government (which I suppose makes me a filthy hypocrite, but I guess I'm a well paid hypocrite) doing worker's comp. stuff. That job has ended because in a short time its back to school for me. I'll be double majoring creative writing and psychology (presuming of course some financial aid comes through or I get accepted for a loan...pray for me on that one will ya?) but I still intend to write! And I swear my updates are going to be more frequent than they currently are. This six month interval is killing me. I am sorry it took so long. If it helps you forgive me this is the longest chapter of anything I've ever written and it was the most difficult of anything I've had to do yet. Oh and I threw in a shirtless sparring Remy and Scoot for extra super bonus to all you fan girls. On another note, Here's a warning right up front that this chapter is a high T rating for implied events. It isn't terribly detailed or graphic or anything, in fact its more implied than anything other than kisses but its the worst I'll do. So enough words here, time for you to read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Stan Lee didn't even send me a graduation present, so I didn't get the X-men as a grad present. However I do have a birthday coming up in October...**

"this is normal speech"

'this is thought' _'this is telepathy'_

_this is a foreign language or something requiring emphasis or a flashback_

**this is a bad word that I'm substituting to keep my rating clean))**

♥♥♥

Remy removed a deck of cards from his pocket and shuffled them with a sour look on his face. He was currently fuming at the team leader, and with damned good reason if you asked him. Gambit may have a player's reputation, but he had always been raised to treat ladies with respect. Apparently Scott Summers had been raised with different values.

Remy was seething with fury and disgust at what the team leader had implied. It was not only false, but it was disgusting and hurtful too. Remy knew his reputation spoke against him but even if he had been careless enough to father a child with Tabitha, whom he'd never even seen in any sort of romantic way, he was responsible enough to claim responsibility. But the way Summers implied that Tabitha was a dirty whore, was heartbreaking to the Cajun. He knew very well that in several months' time, Tabitha would have a living, breathing, and crying reminder that she had made a stupid decision. Did Cyclops really need to provide constant verbal reminder that she'd screwed up? And if he did couldn't he find a way to lecture that didn't involve the poor girl bursting into heart wrenching sobs? 

The Cajun wondered briefly if Summers knew he had upset the young girl and decided that he probably did know. The guy just had less tact than a hippo and an elephant break dancing in a glass trinket shop.

Speaking of the devil, as Remy continued down the hall he found the current object of his disgust slumped outside his bedroom door, apparently begging his wife to let him in.

"Jean, c'mon, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it..." He tried hopefully.

"Y' upset Jeannie too?" Remy sneered. "Y' get some sorta sick pleasure hurtin' femmes ou som't'in'?"

"Shut up, Gambit. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now." Scott sighed irritably.

"Well den _felicitations_, Slim, now y' got an inklin' how Remy feels bout y' everyday." Remy scoffed insolently. He paused and listened for a split second and felt his heart break. Jean was inside the locked room and if his sensitive ears were not deceiving him, she was crying softly into her pillow. "Y' ((**fudgin' illegitimate child**))! De hell'd y' do t' y'r wife!"  
Scott crossed his arms. "None of your business, Lebeau."

"_Au contraire, mon capitain_." Remy said in an icy tone. "Plenty o Remy's business if yo' gonna be takin' up de couch in de rec room, Remy wanna know so he make sure t' disinfect it later. Wouldn' wanna make any de kids sick, non?"

Scott presumably rolled his eyes at the comment.

"What'd y' say Summers? Po' Jeannie sobbin' her heart out in dere." Remy said softly, trying to ignore the sadness she was projecting.

Scott huffed. "I said something stupid to her and she flipped out alright? Now will you keep out of my personal business Gambit?"

"Case y' forgot, _Cyclops_, Remy an empat' an' right now yo' wife's projectin' somet'in' wicked. She _makin_' it Remy's business."

Scott had no reply for a long moment. "Drop dead Gambit."

Remy rolled his eyes. "Oh harsh. Dat might make Remy cry t' de professor...if we was in second grade, dat is."

Scott gave Remy what may have been a very dirty look. "I don't like your attititude Gambit." He said sternly. "As team leader, I should be shown respect. I think maybe an early morning DR session at say...four thirty tomorrow is just what you need."

Remy scoffed. "Dat ain' de way t' get respect Scooter. Respect be earned, but not by y' de way yo' actin' lately." He shook his head in disgust. "But Remy be dere on time all de same. Dere jus' a couple conditions y' gotta meet."

Scott quirked an eyebrow to indicate he was listening.

"Numere un, it ain' guna be no fancy schmancy battle simulation on mars or what eve' else y' got programed. Remy jus' wan' a sparrin' match. Y' versus Remy. _Main de main_. Y' got dat?" Scott nodded. "Bon, pow'rs a go ou a _non?_"

"No powers." Scott said, liking the idea of humiliating Gambit first thing tomorrow morning.

"See y' t'morrow den." Remy said coldly as he stalked toward his room.

"Four thirty sharp!" Scott called sternly. "I'll have a first aid kit ready!" He said snidely.

"Y'll need it." Remy growled under his breath. "Ill be dere. Jus' see y' are."

Remy headed towards his room feeling that at least he had this one battle to look forward to tomorrow.

Scott was left with a very over confident feeling—he felt victorious even though the match had yet to start.

♥

Rogue loved the ballet; she'd wanted to be a ballerina when she was little but her dad refused to pay for a dance class for his child, insisting instead she do something tough like martial arts. But still she held onto her love of the graceful dance, and tonight, as the Phantom of the Opera ballet drew to a close, she was one of the most enthusiastic applauders. She turned with a soft smile to glance at Pietro who was clapping too.

"Ready ta go?" She asked, knowing his response.

His eyes lit up and he stood up quickly. She knew he'd been anxious to leave for a while, he just wasn't designed to sit still very long.

"Ah'll take that as a yes then." Rogue laughed. "We still have time before curfew, wanna snag an icecream?"

He glanced at his watch and shrugged. "Where?"

"Ah know this little shop downtown." Rogue smiled softly.

"Lead-the-way." He gestured and they headed out. A taxi arrived and they climbed inside it. Rogue directed the cabbie to the local diary.

"Where to then kids?"

"Ya know where Amy's Ice Cream Parlor is?" Rogue asked as she shut the door.

"Sure do, missy." The Cabbie chuckled in a good-natured way. "Best sundaes in the county and damn good prices to boot. So to Amy's then?"

Rogue nodded happily. "Thanks."

"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes, then." He informed them. "You mind if I light up?" He held up a cigarette. "Missed my usual smoke time."

Pietro said it would be fine, though Rogue pulled a face. The cab started and they headed to their destination. The ride passed in a comfortable silence. At Amy's Rogue paid the cabby who nodded and took off.

"So, how's the ice cream here?" Pietro asked, studying the shop's exterior.

"It's the best Ah've found in Bayville." Rogue smiled. "They make their own icecream in the back, with milk and cream from their family farm on the outskirts of town. And they don' just have the typical flavors. They got all sorts of interestin' ones."

"Cool." He nodded and the two entered the shop and a little bell jingled. A young girl with a pink apron looked up and smiled as she approached.

"Hi, Welcome to Amy's. Table for two?

"Please." Rogue smiled. The hostess led them to a vacant booth and set two menus on the table.

A few moments later a girl with black hair and a plastic smile on her face came over to the table. She was wearing the same pink apron uniform. But when she saw Rogue she smiled.

"Hey Rogue, long time no see." She said conversationally.

"Hey yaself Alix." Rogue smiled softly. "How's it goin'?"

"Pretty well." Alix's grin widened. "I start college in the fall, NYU accepted me. What about you?"

"Congrats." Rogue nodded. "An' me, well Ah've been doin' pretty good myself. Ah see ya don't have the purple streak any more."

Alix sighed. "Boss said either it went or I did. And I need the money. But it'll be back the moment I walk out those doors on my last day."

Rogue nodded with a chuckle. "Ah don' doubt that in the least."

Pietro, feeling very uncomfortably left out of the conversation gently cleared his throat. Alix's glance strayed to him before returning to Rogue, a gleeful grin on her face.

"Oh my gosh, you're on a date!"

Rogue simply shrugged.

"I so never thought I'd see the day!" She laughed. "Guess this means you finally got over Summers then, huh?" Rogue flushed a bit and avoided looking at Pietro. "Wait a minute is he the guy you told me about last time you came in? Rodney or Reddy or something right?"

"Remy." Rogue said tersely. "And no, this is Pietro. Pietro, meet Alix. We met in gym class and had two French classes together."

"Oh. Hi." Pietro smiled uneasily and nodded.

"So you two are certainly dressed up." Alix said curiously. "Going somewhere special after this?"

"Comin' from somethin'." Rogue corrected. "We just saw The Phantom of the Opera ballet at Worthington Theater."

"Oh, AJ's taking me tomorrow after I get off work, how is it?"

"Pretty cool." Rogue smiled. "An' Ah think yo' boss is gettin' a bit cranky." She whispered.

Alix turned to her scowling boss with a quick smile. "Ok then you two, the flavor of the week is strawberry peach, and since tonight is a Friday we have banana boats at half the normal price." The girl said quickly. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Ya iced tea still fresh brewed?"

"Ya." Alix scoffed. "The boss from Hell just made me make up a fresh container of it."

"Then Ah'll have an iced tea, no lemon." Rogue requested with a small chuckle.

"Coke for me, I guess." Pietro nodded as the girl wrote that down.

"Ok, those'll be right out, and I'll be back in a few to get your ice cream order. " She smiled perkily. "We can talk later." She mumbled as she left.

Rogue laughed. "She's gotta be the last person save me or ya sister who Ah'd expect ta be wearin' a pink apron uniform an' servin' icecream."

"Why-do-you-say-that?" Pietro scrunched his nose.

"Cause she just doesn't seem the type." Rogue explained. "Gal wears mo' black than Ah own, and she always useta swear pink off as the devil."

"Oh." Pietro snickered.

The two fell into silence as they studied their menus.

"Do ya know what you want?" Rogue asked after a while.

"Probably-vanilla-ice-cream-and-hot-fudge." He said nonchalantly.

She gaped. "Yer at an icecream parlor that makes all sorts of fantastic original flavors an' ya want a typical hot fudge sundae?"

"Yeah,-why-not?"

Rogue sighed. "Ah just figured ya could get that anywhere and yah'd go for somethin'...a little less...usual."

Pietro looked confused. "Oh. Hot-fudge-sundaes-have-happy-memories-for-me." He said softly. "It's-what-I-always-had-with-my-mom...before she...died."

Rogue's face flushed with horror and embarrassment. "Ah'm so sorry Pietro..." She breathed. "Ah didn' know, really!"

"It's-ok." He shrugged. "But-thats-why-I-always-get-the-same-thing."

Rogue didn't know what to say and so remained silent.

Alix returned a few minutes later with their drinks. "So you two ready to order?"

"I'd-like-two-scoops-of-vanilla-with-hot-fudge." Pietro said.

"Whipped cream and a cherry?"

"Please." Pietro nodded.

"Ok," Alix jotted it down and turned to Rogue.

"Ah'll take the flavor of the week with pineapple topping and gummy bears." Rogue recited casually. "Yes to the whipped cream, no cherry."

"You got it." Alix nodded. "Oh and sorry I cut ya short earler. Boss is in a ((**rhymes with witchy**)) mood cause we had two no-shows. Carmen and her roommate Carol were both supposed to be on tonight but they didn't show up and they haven't called." Alix rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen.

"So what'd ya think of the show?" Rogue asked her tablemate conversationally.

"It-was-okay." Pietro shrugged. "What'd-you-think?"

"Ah loved it." Rogue grinned. "It's onea ma favorite stories an' Ah've always loved ballet."

"Really?" He cocked his head to the side. He'd never known that about Rogue.

"Yeah. When Ah was li'l it was all Ah ever wanted ta do." Rogue gained a dreamy expression that suggested she was remembering. "Mah mom thought it was sweet, but ma dad...he di'n' so much like the idea." She closed her eyes, as if in pain. "He found out mama was gettin' me lessons an' flipped out. He said, if Ah wasn' gonna do somethin' useful like wrestling or karate, he wasn't payin' fo' it." She sighed. "So Mama switched Ballet for karate."

Pietro spent a moment pondering this information. He tried envisioning Rogue as a ballet dancer and found it just didn't mesh right. The very idea of Rogue in a tutu made him want to laugh himself sick, but then he supposed it wasn't actually that weird: the girl had spent the better part of three years publicly fighting supervillians in spandex.

He considered saying something regarding that but held his tongue after glancing at her. She looked very sad all of a sudden.

"I'm...sorry." He said softly.

"Don't be." Rogue sighed. Then she snorted. "Can ya imagine me in one of them prissy li'l tutus?"

Pietro smirked, "I-don't-know-Rogue, I-mean-I-can-see-it-working-for-you. The-whole-tutu-and-tights-and-toe-shoes-and-hair-in-a-tight-bun, spinning-around-in-little-pirouettes-and-doing-plies."

"Ah just decided Ah ain't gonna ask where ya learned ballet terminology. Ah just don' wanna know." She shook her head in amusement.

He was about to reply in his defense when the young server brought their icecreams. "Enjoy." She smiled and flitted off to assist another customer.

"Yuck, she did that on purpose." Rogue frowned and fished not one but two cherries off her sundae. "She knows Ah hate these."

Pietro snickered under his breath before taking a spoonful of his own ice-cream. They ate in silence for a long while until Rogue spoke up out of the blue.

"What about you?"

He looked confused. "Huh?"

"What did you wanna be when ya grew up when ya were li'l?" Rogue wheedled.

"Oh." Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Ah told ya what Ah wanted, ya should return the favor." He looked doubtful so she pulled on a sweet expression. "Please, Pie?"

He sighed and cursed his vulnerability to cute facial expressions. "I-wanted-to-be-a-race-car-driver." He admitted.

"Awww." Rogue cooed. "That's so cute." She glanced at him playfully. "So ya've always been a speedster then?"

He shrugged. "I-can't-help-it-the-rest-of-the-world-moves-too-slow-for-me."

She chuckled softly. "Ah shoulda expected some kinda answer like that from ya, right? Guess ya always have been an' always will be the same Pietro."

He pondered that for a moment before smirking. "You-know-you-love-me-for-it."

She rolled her eyes and laughed playfully. "Ya an' the fact that yo' just about the most humble bein' on earth helps ya case too."

"Ya-I-know." He winked.

After a brief chuckle the pair got back to their ice creams. Rogue broke the comfortable silence with a soft question.

"Pietro, has anything changed?"

He looked up relatively startled. "What?"

"Did ya change ya goal?" She clarified. "Do ya still wanna drive a racecar?"

"Why do you ask?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ah just wondered."

He paused and frowned. "I-don't-really-know-anymore. I-mean, what-fun-is-a-racecar-when-you-jog-faster?"

"Good point." Rogue nodded pensively. "So what about now? What do ya wanna do instead of race?"

Pietro thought for a while. "I-really-don't-know." He frowned. "But-I'm-only-seventeen, I-don't-really-need-to-worry. I-usually-just-deal-with-things-when-they-get-in-my-way."

"Guess that makes sense." Rogue said softly. "That way ya don' get disappointed when somethin' goes a way ya didn' want it to."

He tensed slightly, sensing they weren't exactly talking about him anymore.

"What-about-you?" He changed the subject.

"Pardon?"

"What-replaced-being-a-ballerina?" He clarified.

She blushed a little bit and thought. "Ah think that...Ah think Ah'd kinda like ta...it's stupid." She stopped.

"Go on." He urged.

"Y'll laugh." She looked down and focused on her ice-cream.

"C'mon, now-I'm-curious!" He whined.

"Fine, but ya can't tell no one." She said seriously. "Else Ah'll kill ya."

"Scout's honor." He held up his hand.

"Yeah, like ya were ever a boy scout!" She snorted.

"Ok-you-got-me." He admitted. "Cross-my-heart-then."

Rogue smiled, looking almost shy. "Ah'd like ta teach."

Pietro looked confused. "That's-it?"

She looked taken aback and he immediately amended his statement. "I-mean-the-way-you-were-carrying-on-I-thought-it-was-something-really-embarrasing."

"Oh." She flushed at the implications of what he could have been imagining she'd say.

"So-why-a-teacher?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "I-thought-you-hated-little-kids."

Rogue's jaw dropped. "Where'd ya get an idea like that?" She asked, sounding a bit hurt.

He looked incredibly embarrassed and apologetic, realizing his assumption had been very wrong. "No-offense-or-anything-I-just-never-assumed-by-your-attitude-"

"Ya assumed wrong." She sighed and dropped her eyes. "Ah've always loved kids. Ah just don' have patience fo' teens who act like little kids."

"So-that's-why-you-didn't-get-along-with-the-brotherhood-boys-before-you-joined-Xavier's." Pietro joked.

"Actually, it was just ya an' Toad Ah had issues with." Rogue reminded with an amused expression. "Freddy pretty much kept ta himself, and Lance an' Ah always got along fo' the most part. He was always like the older brother Ah didn't ever have."

Pietro nodded. "He-always-was-acting-like-we-were-all-his-responsibility."

"Do ya blame him? Ah mean, he was older'n alla us, an' if he didn' look out fo' us who would?"

"You-did-a-decent-job." Pietro commented. "You-always-made-sure-we-had-clean-dishes-and-enough-food-to-get-by. And-you-kept-us-from-fighting-a-lot."

Rogue waved it off as nothing. "Well ya'll woulda driven me crazy fightin' over nothin' all the time. An' if ya'll only had chips and twinkies in the house, that's all Ah woulda had ta eat."

Pietro chuckled and shook his head. "Either-way-you-were-kinda-like-a-surrogate-mother-slash-big-sister-to-all-of-us-miscreants."

"Aw Speedy, ya makin' me blush." Rogue smiled. "An' besides, it ain' like Ah made a colossal difference ta any of y'all. Ah was only there for a month or so."

"Still, when-you-were-there-we-all-benefited. We-were-kinda-like-a-family."

Rogue snorted in a decidedly non-lady like way. "Family? Not hardly. If we was, that's one screwed up family."

Pietro shook his head. "Not-really. You-and-Lance-were-the-closest-thing-to-parents-Freddy-and-Toad-ever-had."

Rogue wrinkled her nose. "That implies Lance an' Ah were more'n just friends an' teammates...an' that, Pietro, is a creepy and unnatural thought."

Pietro nodded in agreement. "Well-then-you-were-our-role-models-then. Least-until-you-hightailed-it-to-Xavier's-and-Alvers-fell-for-Kitty. Before-that-we-were-a-semi-functioning-family. At-least-more-of-one-than-my-real-family-proved-to-be." Pietro said softly.

Rogue instantly looked sympathetic. She didn't know what to say to that, so she returned her gaze to the melting ice cream. "Well, Ah guess the both of us had ta grow up."

Pietro nodded sadly. "We-all-did. Just-you-guys-were-a-bit-ahead-of-the-rest-of-us." He sighed.

"Everyone hasta grow up sometime." Rogue shrugged. She smirked playfully. "Though I sometimes wonder if you an' Toad ever will."

He pulled a face. "You're-grouping-me-with-slime-face?"

"Hey watch it." Rogue chuckled. "He could end up being you're brother-in-law someday."

Pietro dramatically paled and blanched. "Don't-say-that!" He hissed and glanced around wildly. "He-might-take-you-seriously!"

Rogue stifled a giggle. "Ya such a drama queen, Pietro."

"You-wouldn't-say-that-if-it-was-your-sister-being-harassed-and-tainted-by-slime-breath."

"No, but then, Ah don' have a sister." Rogue smirked again. "Can' ya cut the guy some slack, Ah mean, Wanda obviously must see somethin' in Frog Face. Cut her some slack will ya, she is more'n capable of watchin' out for herself."

"I-know-that." Pietro sighed. "That's-not-what-I'm-worried-about." She regarded him with confusion in her gaze. "She-may-look-seventeen-but-inside-she's-still-catching-up-from-her-time..." Pietro looked around nervously. "Her-time-in-that...hospital."

Rogue frowned. She and the rest of the X-men had been confused when the Brotherhood girl had gotten mellower and less homicidal, but everyone agreed this more docile Wanda was safer to have around. They had all been urged to never mention her years in the hospital/asylum, and everyone chose to abide by this condition, not wanting to upset her.

"What do ya mean?"

"That-experience-damaged-her, Rogue." Pietro sighed again. "She's...fragile."

"It's sweet that ya care bout her so much." Rogue smiled, a much sweeter smile than he was used to seeing on her face.

"Well, she's-my –twin...She's-like-half-of-who-I-am." He explained helplessly. "And-I-can't-stand-the-thought-of-just-watching-as-she-blunders-into-a-relationship-she's-not-ready-for."

Rogue nodded. "That's incredibly sweet." She would have squealed if she was a squealer. "But, Ah think ya gotta give the girl credit, at least a li'l more'n ya are, sugah." She paused. "Ya can't shelter her, else the whole mess will get worse."

Pietro grimaced. "I-just-wish-she'd-be-more-selective-about-who-she-gets-close-to."

"Ah never realized ya were so sensitive." Rogue grinned playfully. "Just relax Pie, let her live her own life. A gal's first crush is supposed to be special."

"Easy-for-you-to-say." He muttered. "Wasn't yours, _Summers_?" He scrunched his nose.

She flushed crimson. "That was a long time ago, Pietro. Ah was young an' stupid." She muttered.

"My-point-exactly!" He scowled. "If-YOU-were-willing-to-up-and-join-the-X-geeks-just-to-oggle-Summers-what-will-Wanda, who-is-nowhere-near-your-emotional-maturity, do-for-Toad?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah don' wanna go there. Ah guess Ah can see where ya comin from. And besides, Scott wasn't the only reason Ah left."

"He wasn't?" Pietro tilted his head curiously. "We-all-thought-"

"Ya'll thought wrong again." Rogue sighed. "On that geology trip Ah went on, Ah absorbed Mystique. Ah saw that she'd been trickin' me the whole time. Ah was supposed ta join the X-men ta start off, but she changed that, an' the resta ma supposed destiny by trickin' me. But Ah don' wanna talk about that."

Pietro looked shocked and the two again fell silent. They finished their icecreams in relative quiet and then hailed a cab back to the mansion, chatting about nothing in particular.

They arrived at the mansion and Rogue led the way to the front door. Suddenly she turned around, a hesitant smile on her face. Pietro blinked. It was almost a ...shy smile.

"Ah had a great time t'night, Pietro." She started, but he was distracted by the color that had suddenly risen in her cheeks. Dear Mother of Magneto, was Rogue blushing? "Thanks fo' comin' with me."

He blinked again, it wasn't like he'd had any choice in the matter. She'd all but threatened his life if he _didn't_. "Um...no problem." He said hesitantly.

Her face lit up. "Ya had fun?"

"Sure." He raised an eyebrow, as his mind raced for an explanation of the sudden weird behavior.

She beamed. "Ah'm real glad." She paused and stammered slightly. "Ah...Ah was kinda wond'rin' if...maybe...if we could try it again sometime? If ya wanted to or somethin'." She added awkwardly.

His eyes widened and he stumbled back a step. Of all the things in the world he was not expecting that from her.

"Rogue!" He said incredulously as he gaped at her. She was fidgeting nervously with her house key.

"Ya don' hafta." She said in a somewhat subdued tone. "Ah just thought that...since we had a good tahme tanight..."

And instantly he understood and cursed himself, wondering why he hadn't realized sooner. Rogue had been pouring her heart to him all night, but he'd thought nothing of it because he was doing the same thing. But apparently she had misread his intentions, grossly if his guess was correct. He stared at her, as if he was waiting for her to crack up laughing any moment.

When she didn't he sighed and stepped forward slightly. "Rogue..." He started awkwardly. "It's not like I don't like you...but...I don't think we should start...seeing more of each other than we already do."

Rogue wouldn't have looked more hurt had he slapped her. "Why?"

He bit his lip nervously. "Well, Rogue, we don't really make a good couple." He explained. She raised an eyebrow, confusion in her eyes.

He fidgeted uncomfortably, suddenly too aware of the surveillance camera catching his every word. "It's not about you...or your powers." He added quickly. "And-you-know-I-think-you're-hot." He murmured quickly. "But trust me...I'm not your type."

"Ma what?" Rogue asked, her face shifting from puzzlement to disbelief.

"Your...type." He gulped and she crossed her arms angrily. "Look Rogue, I'm-not-the-right-guy-for-you. Really."

"Oh?" He winced at her very sharp tone. The degree of shyness was gone, replaced by an icy tone. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." He said, trying to sound stern. "You-asked-me-out-with-the-intent-of-pissing-off-Gambit. I-agreed, not-that-you-gave-me-much-choice...We-had-a-decent-time-but-I-think-we-need-to-leave-it-like-that." She gave a nasty glare. "Rogue, don't-give-me-that. I-care-about-you-too-much-to-watch-as-your-heart-shatters-at-my-hand."

She huffed indignantly. "Ya flatter yaself Quickie. It'd take more'n ya ta chip ma heart, let alone shatter it."

"That's-what-you-think." Pietro snapped before he could stop himself. "You-used-to-get-emotional-over-Toad-eating-butterflies-and-Lance's-stupid-mushy-love-songs! I-know-what-would-happen-if-I-led-you-on-and-let-you-think-we're-going-out! I'd-break-your-heart-and-you'd-consequently-break-my-neck. Besides...you-can-do-better-than-me."

Her glare broke and she looked confused again. "Huh?"

"Rogue," He said slowly, patiently. "I don't do well in dating situations. I'm not much into commitment. I'm more of a hit-it-and-quit-it kinda guy." He felt his face heat up a little bit and noticed a tinge of pink around Rogue's cheeks. "You-want-something-stable, I-know-you-do." He said gently. "You've-always-wanted-affection-and-honesty, even-when-you-were-the-resident-brotherhood-babe." She bit her lip and looked like she wanted to say something.

"Ah just thought..."

"No-Rogue-listen!" He snapped again. "I-can't-give-you-what-you-want-in-a-relation-ship. Just-like-you-can't-give-me-what-I'd-want-because-of-your-powers."

He was immediately horrified by what he said. He wished he could pull the hurtful words back into his mouth before they reached her ears but the expression of hurt on her face told him it was too late. "Rogue-I'm-s-"

"Don't." Her eyes flashed and he realized he'd never quite noticed how acidy of a green her eyes were. "Ya ain' sorry at all. So don' lie an' say ya are. That's what ya really feel. No need ta explain any further." She was getting hysterical, and her eyes were shining. Exerience told him it was tears welling that she refused to spill. "Ya a guy, an' ya minds only on one thing an it just happens that Ah can't do anythin' about it."

"Rogue-"

"Ya make me sick!" She spat before turning on her heels and entered the mansion with her head held high.

Pietro followed trying to blubber out an apology. But he only made two steps into the mansion before A thick fist grabbed him by the neck.

"Five seconds."

"What?" Pietro gasped and struggled against the grip.

"You have five seconds to explain what the Hell is going on here before you find yourself in the infirmary or a coffin, dependin' on my mood five seconds from now, runt."

Pietro's eyes widened. "What-do-you-mean?"

Wolverine slammed him against the wall and Pietro whimpered in pain and increased his struggle.

"Let-me-go!" He wriggled and panicked as the feral mutant's fist tightened a bit. "I-have-no-clue-what-your-talking-about!"

Logan growled. "Rogue came in here and as soon as she turned away from the door I smelt her tears. What'd you do to her, tell me and I might be forgiving runt."

Pietro frowned, still struggling. A slight 'snikt' and gentle prick of metal on either side of his neck loosened Pietro's vocal cords. "We-went-out-to-piss-off-Gambit-cause-he-upset-her-and-then-she-wanted-to-go-out-like-a-date-and-I-said-no-because-I-didn't-want-to-hurt-her."

"That all?" Pietro gulped as the third claw slid slowly out of Logan's hand.

"I-said-something-out-of-line." He admitted. "It-hurt-her-but-I-wasn't-thinking-about-how-she'd-take-it-cuz-I-was-really-weirded-out-by-her-asking-me-out-in-the-first-place."

Wolverine snarled and released the boy. "She's in her room right now, and really upset. I expect that in the morning you'll stop by and see her to apologize-right before heading down to your-"

"I know." Pietro groaned. "My 5AM DR session right?"

"Exactly bub." Logan smirked. "Yer only gettin' off that easy because Chuck chose a convenient moment to remind me I ain't allowed to murder the students." The older mutant grimaced. "I hate that rule sometimes. Specially tonight."

"Why tonight?" Pietro asked before he could stop himself.

Wolverine grunted. "Rogue ain't the only one in her room cryin' tonight. Got two other's with a legit excuse. A legit excuse I'd really love to put through a wall about now."

"Who?" Pietro asked curiously.

"Mind yer P's an' Q's, bub." Wolverine growled. "It ain't none of yer business, less it was yer sis an' I will tell ya it ain't her." Pietro was about to question further but Wolverine gestured to the stairs leading to the dorms. "Shoo."

"But-I-wanna"

"Yer pressin' yer luck, bub." Wolverine warned. "You an' Rogue broke curfew in addition to you makin' her cry. I may not be physically allowed to murder ye, but that's one thing I love about the Danger Room, nobody said nothin' about workin' you to exaustion or anything about accidents."

Pietro caught the threat and headed up to his room with little to no further complaint as Wolverine grabbed his keys and decided to venture out to the nearest bar.

♥

At four-thirty-five, Scott was rushing down to the Danger Room, rubbing his aching back. He had the suspicion that he'd been sleeping on the TV Remote, and probably Jamie's gameboy too. But his current goal was to make it to the Danger Room before Gambit.

He cursed out the elevator when it ran slow and rushed into the training facility.

"T'ought y' said fo' t'irty sharp." The Cajun was idly shuffling a deck of cards and leaning against the wall and displaying a smug smirk.

"The elevator was running slow." Scott's eyes narrowed.

"Of course, it was." Remy shrugged nonchalantly before his smirk widened. "An' how was de rec room couch Summers?"

Scott winced and rubbed his back again but did not answer.

"Dat _bon_ eh?" Remy chuckled. "Lemme guess, remote under center cushion an' a gameboy somewhere round yo' upper back?"

Scott deadpanned. "Have you been honest when telling us all your powers?"

"What, y' think ol' Remy a telepat'?" The Cajun snickered. " 'M flattered really, but Remy leave dat up t' yo' _belle femme et le prof et_ all de rest of em."

"What, did you plant the stuff there then?"

"If Remy done dat, he'da gone fo' somet'in' much less comfortable." Gambit said with a smirk. "Jus' Remy recognize de signs. M' brot'er spent his fair share a nights on de couch too, at least when he an' his wife tied the not. She was a sensitive l'il thing and din' like his answer t' "does dis' dress make m' butt look big?" Course she didn't know he meant yes in de nicest way possible, as he was just nineteen and rather liked it when she wore things tight like that. Suppose that's what a _fille_ gets when she asks a _homme_ bout 'er back- ."

"Are we here to talk or fight?" Scott asked with an irritated look.

Remy shrugged. "Figured y' might not be up t' sparrin' what wit' de achin' back an' all."

"Shove it Gambit, I'm ready when you are." The leader growled as the Cajun pocketed his cards and stretched.

"'M ready den Scottie boy."

Scott nodded and the two young men lunged toward each other.

♥

Tabitha woke up that morning smiling after a wonderful dream, with a warm and happy feeling in her heart. She stretched and was slightly startled to see four girls sitting around the end of her bed. They were still in their nightclothes and looking as though they had been eagerly awaiting Tabitha's awakening. Lorna was seated on her own bed, which was right next to Tabitha's, and she was wearing a long green tee-shirt and bike shorts, as well as a sleepy expression suggesting she too had just woken up. Jubilee sat beside her, looking much more awake and far more energetic as she swung her legs impatiently, waiting for her roommate to wake up. Amara had sat at the edge of Tabby's bed wearing a regal red satin nightgown, and while she was more composed than Jubilee, she too looked eager to grill her best friend about the prior night's date with Gambit. And true to their word, Tabby's roommates had managed to persuade Betsy to take part in the girl talk and keep things honest.

Betsy was a few years older than Tabby and the others, but despite being legal to drink and gamble, Betsy got along quite well with the younger girls and was always ready to take part in a good gossip fest. She had brought a chair from one of the desks in the bedroom close to the other girls, and she was watching the blond just as eagerly as the others. She had been absently toying with the silk sash on her elegant purple robe until Tabby's eyes opened.

"You're awake!" Jubilee chirped. "It's about time, girl!"

"Yea Tabitha, we've been waiting for you to wake up for quite a while." Amara said gently.

"The girls tell me you were out with quite a special date last night." Betsy said and her British accent gave the impression she was amused as Tabitha yawned and sat up. "And I must admit I'm curious about the details. The first of which being, of course, who is the lucky Romeo? Jubilee told me that I would not believe it unless I heard it from you in person."

"I was out with Remy last night." Tabby smiled.

"Our resident Cajun?" Betsy looked impressed. "Do tell, luv."

Tabby grinned and closed her eyes, leaning against the headboard. "I've never, ever, had a better date."

All four of the other girls' eyes lit up and Betsy rubbed her hands together mischievously. "You do know, luv, you're honor bound to share ALL the juicy details?"

Tabby laughed from her place at the headboard. "There really isn't anything juicy to tell."

Betsy scanned her for honesty and frowned. "You two didn't..."

"No." Tabby sighed. "But maybe that's what made it so special."

Betsy laughed. "Tabby, I worked with the man when-well he wasn't quite a man at that point, we were in our young teenage years- but the point is even when he was fifteen or sixteen he had a tough time keeping his hands to himself."

"Yeah, so how far'd it really go?" Jubilee asked shamelessly. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you know, we're your friends."

"And we totally wouldn't blab." Lorna promised.

"I know." Tabby frowned. "But it really didn't go anywhere. He was a perfect gentleman the whole evening."

"I have a lot of trouble believing that, luv." Betsy said gently.

"Scan me. Or scan him." Tabby sighed. "The most intimate thing that happened was when he carried me inside."

"You sly little fox you!" Betsy smirked. "Did you play the 'weak ankles' card?"

"What does that mean?" Amara scrunched her nose curiously.

"She's asking if Tabby acted hurt or weak to get him to hold her." Lorna explained and Jubilee looked at her curiously. "Admittedly he does seem the type to react well to 'damsel in distress'."

"How in the world do you know this, Lorna?" Jubilee raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've tried it or something..." Lorna was the type of girl easy to perceive as quiet and shy, and rather awkward around guys, definitely not the type to play DID.

"Well no," Lorna's ears turned pink. "Not me personally." The others looked at her, curiousity piqued. "I just read a lot."

That mystery solved the attention shifted back to Tabby. "You still haven't answered the question." Jubilee pointed out.

"No." Tabitha smiled guiltily. "Actually I fell asleep on him in the taxi."

"Are you positive nothing happened?" Amara's eyes widened.

"Definitely nothing when she was out." Betsy came to the Cajun's defense immediately. "Admittedly he's got quite an impressive little black book, I'd wager, but I know him. He'd never take advantage of a girl. Ever. He has that noble streak about him."

"Oh he's noble all right." Tabby smiled at the memory. "He even bought me dinner and a boatload of snacks cuz I said I was a little hungry. And then when...somebody...said something cruel about me, he decked him."

"That's sweet, Tabby." Amara smiled at her friend. "Maybe he didn't try anything because it was only the first date. Maybe he wants you to think him honorable."

"You think so?" Tabitha was intrigued at her best friend's insight.

"Well, I'd imagine it does help erase the man-slut reputation he's earned himself." Betsy said thoughtfully. "Maybe he's serious. Though you could've told me he had morals when were young and I've have laughed, honestly. Maybe he's changed."

"But I thought he liked Rogue." Lorna pointed out. "What happened with that?"

"I heard she was out with Pietro last night." Jubilee smirked. "I heard her go into her room last night. They blew curfew by almost an hour."

Tabitha's heart clenched for a moment, but she didn't know why until, she felt the familiar feeling in her stomach. She scrambled to her feet and made her way to the bathroom.

"Tabitha, are you alright?" Amara asked tentatively as the blond fell to her knees in front of the toilet, heaving. Tabby only had enough time to shake her head before throwing up.

Amara and Jubilee looked grossed out and Betsy looked like she was putting pieces of a puzzle together, so Lorna quietly shut the door, in an attempt to preserve any dignity her roommate still had. A short while later Tabitha opened the door after brushing her teeth.

"You okay?" Jubilee asked warily.

"I think I'm alright now." Tabby's voice was small.

"Did you eat something strange at dinner last night?" Lorna asked gently.

The blond smiled weakly. "I did get a little experimental."

"Maybe something didn't agree with you." Amara said in a concerned tone. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Maybe she should go down to see Mr. McCoy." Lorna frowned.

"No, I'm fine." Tabby shook her head. "I think I'll just take a refreshing shower and get dressed. You four should probably do the same. Never know when the badger will come drag us out for a training session."

She headed over to her dresser and grabbed an outfit and a towel before heading into the bathroom again. When she opened the door again fifteen minutes later, she was wearing a bright pink tank top, her favorite jeans and her towel around her head, drying her hair. Jubilee and Amara sat on their respective beds, presumably waiting for the date interrogation to continue. Betsy had left for her own room to shower and Lorna had gone down the hall to use the community bathroom, knowing as the youngest roommate she had last dibs on shower water, and while Tabby and Jubilee were pretty quick, Amara took forever.

Tabby sat back on her bed as Jubilee took her turn in the bathroom.

"Well?" Amara asked when the door closed. Her friend gave her a blank look. "Come on Tabitha, tell me more about your date with Gambit." The younger girl giggled. "Is he as dreamy in public as he is in the danger room?"

"I'd still have to say it was the best date I've ever had." Tabitha admitted with a sigh. "He was so sweet, insisting he pay for everything, flirting, the works."

Amara swooned. "Wow, you are so lucky Tabitha." Tabby smiled weakly, not bothering to disagree. "He's such a gentleman. And he's soooooo hot too."

"I cannot deny that one." Tabby giggled. "The man has muscle on his muscles! But he's not like, steroid size or something gross."

"Exactly. He's cut like a diamond-virtually flawless and perfectly carved. My people would likely worship him as a god." Amara pointed out.

Tabby snickered at the thought. "At least the women. But that's universal."

"Very true." Amara smirked. "You are so lucky to have him." The princess smiled at her friend. "He sounds like an excellent guy."

"He is." Something like guilt floated through her mind as she remembered she had been promising to help him win the heart of the girl of his dreams. She felt bad that part of her felt a just reward would be to see him with Rogue, and the other part filled in her own image in Rogue's place. She had to admit that the side arguing in her favor liked the idea of his strong, warm embrace and tender kisses being reserved for her and her alone.

"It's a shame you didn't even get to kiss him though." Amara said sadly.

"Tell me about it." Tabitha sighed deeply.

"So what's on the schedule for date number 2?" Amara asked shrewdly. "Dinner and ballet will be a tough act to follow, but I'm sure Gambit will live up to the challenge."

Tabby nodded. "I...don't really know." She confessed. "I don't know if there will be a second date."

Amara looked scandalized. "What? What do you mean?"

Tabitha looked uncomfortable. Part of her definitely wouldn't mind going on a real date with him, but she did still feel honor bound to keep her promise to try her best to get him and Rogue hooked up.

"I don't know, 'Mara." She shrugged, looking helpless. "I'd like it, more than I ever thought I would, if he'd ask me out ag—"

Suddenly Lorna ran back into the room panting. "Guys, you so gotta come quick!"

"What's wrong?" Amara asked with a frown. "Is there a security breach?"

"No!" Lorna grinned. "Better than that." Tabby raised an eyebrow. "I just heard Paige telling Rahne that X-23 and Wanda had a session with Wolverine this morning at seven thirty but they couldn't get into the Danger Room!"

"So?" Tabby said nonchalantly. "Someone else prolly got in there first."

"It's who got in that is worth mentioning." Lorna's green eyes sparkled. "Cuz Gambit and Cyclops are sparring in their costumes! Paige said they might even be shirtless! You know what that means?" She didn't wait for a reply before squealing the answer. "There's like, two really hot and really muscley guys fighting shirtless just downstairs!"

Jubilee peeked her head out of the bathroom. "Gambit and Cyke are shirtless? Count me in!" She dressed in record timing and hurried out of the bathroom running a brush through her wet hair before checking herself out in the mirror

"I didn't know you liked Cyclops." Amara commented as she glanced at her own reflection and smoothed her hair by running her hands through it.

"I don't. He's a jerk, and besides that he's married to Jean. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view. Besides, Gambit's way better anyway."

"Amen." Tabby laughed and the group of girls hurried to the elevator. They boarded and then made their way to the control room so they could watch the show. Apparently many of the others had the same idea. Tabby squeezed between the people and pushed her way to the front, where she watched the spectacle, impressed.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Betsy behind her, wearing a purple halter-top, black leather pants, purple and black fingerless gloves, fishnets, and a concerned expression.

"Oh hey Bets." Tabitha smiled. "Here to enjoy the show?"

Betsy moved closer to the glass and gave a half smile. "So that's what Jean sees in our fearless leader. I was worried, for a while there, thought she was just attracted to jerks." Tabby giggled. "And as for Gambit, my my, he has certainly improved since sixteen. Perhaps his claim that he is God's gift to women has some basis in truth. His muscular structure would certainly point one in the direction of believing his anatomy to have been carved by angels." She gave the younger girl at her side a knowing look. "This is quite the treat, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's not everyday two gorgeous men spar shirtless, is it?" Tabitha sighed with a smile.

"I quite agree." Betsy chuckled and quickly fell silent. "Is it his, Tabitha?"

Tabby looked at her friend, wearing a confused expression. "Huh?"

"Your little secret." Betsy said softly. "Is it his too?"

"What do you mean?" Tabitha swallowed nervously.

Betsy moved subtly closer to the younger girl and lowered her voice. "Your secret. The one you don't want anybody knowing." She raised an eyebrow and gave Tabby's midriff a telltale glance.

Tabitha's eyes widened. "How do you know about that? Did you-?"

Betsy shook her head and interrupted telepathically. '_No Tabitha, I didn't read your mind to come to that conclusion. I leave such departures from common manners for classless people-like Emma.'_

'Then how...' Tabitha thought, bewildered.

'_Luv, you've been dropping the pieces to the puzzle for a while now. I just put them together.'_

Tabitha looked at Betsy helplessly. 'I've been that obvious?'

'_Subtle as a jet wreck, luv.'_ Betsy's British accent chimed. '_I'm amazed it took me this long to get it to tell the truth.' _ She gently tugged Tabitha onto the astral plane, where their conversation would be more private.

"Woah where are we?" Tabitha panicked.

"Relax, luv, this is the astral plane." Betsy explained.

"Oh." Tabby nodded, clearly not understanding what that meant. "Why are you a butterfly?"

Betsy laughed. "It's my astral form. On the astral plane your subconscious takes the form of the image that represents your psyche."

Tabitha looked down at herself. "I still look like me."

Betsy laughed again. "You're a firstie. That is to say, you've never been to the astral plane before. Don't worry, your subconscious will modify without you even realizing it."

As if to prove the British telepath correct, Tabitha's form started shifting and soon a lithe orange and yellow-what else-tabby kitten sat staring up at the butterfly.

"I'm a cat on this astro-planet?"

"Astral-plane, and I'd say kitten if I had to guess." Betsy's voice sounded amused.

"Why'm I a cat?" Tabby asked, the kitten's blue eyes forming a very human expression.

"Haven't a clue, luv." Betsy said nonchalantly. "You figure out why I'm a butterfly, then I'll get to working deciding why you're a kitty. Though I'd suspect it has something to do with your character or maybe your subconscious is having a go at your name."

Tabby the tabby nodded and raised an eyebrow. "So why are we here?"

"Well, I got the impression you didn't want our conversation audible to anybody else. Don't worry, none of the others will notice anything. We just look like we're drooling over the lovely little display Cyclops and Gambit are putting on at the moment."

Tabby frowned and her little tail twitched. "How'd you figure out what I was hiding?"

Betsy sighed. "There are many signs, luv. In particular the sudden drastic social change, the wonky appetite fluctuations, and unexplained fatigue were big pointers. But I knew for sure when you got sick this morning. I've noticed you getting sick when you think nobody notices at least seven times. My initial thought was that you were suffering an eating disorder." Betsy admitted.

Tabitha looked embarrassed. "Nope."

"I realized that this morning." Betsy said gently. "The way you were letting the girls talk about getting into a serious relationship with Gambit of all men...something changed you."

"I guess." The Tabby kitten lowered her ears.

"Is it Gambit's baby, Tabitha?" Betsy asked in a soft voice. "Is that why you want a relationship with him so badly?"

The Tabby kitten's ears dropped further and her whiskers drooped as she bowed her head. "No." She said in a barely audible voice. "It's not Remy's baby."

"Does he think it is?" Betsy asked sternly.

Tabby was taken aback. "No! Of course not! He's never even touched me, honest!"

"Then who-?"

"I'm not entirely sure sure." Tabby sounded drained. Tears were clouding her eyes.

"Tell me the story?" Betsy asked in a kind voice.

Tabby bit her little kitten lip. "It's hard to tell."

"Then show me the memory." Betsy coaxed approaching. She fluttered her wings against the kitten's head and a flash of color took them back into Tabitha's memory.

_**Five Weeks Previous**_

_"What do you mean, we can't? Why not?" The blond gave the shy teenage boy beside her an irritated look. They had been having a particularly heated make-out session in her room (as her room-mates were all mall crawling) and she had just successfully gotten his over shirt unbuttoned and tossed it behind her, before attempting to remove his white under shirt. However the second her fingers came into contact with his bare stomach, his eyes widened as if he'd just woken up and he pushed her, almost violently, away, stammering 'Wait! We can' do this..."_

_"What gives?" The girl frowned._

_"Ah...Ah don' know if we're ready for that, Tabby." He stammered nervously. His face was flushing rapidly._

_"What? What do you mean? We've been dating under the radar for _months_." She fixed a confused look at him. _

_"Ah know, an' Ah-we need ta talk about this."_

_"What's there to talk about?" She asked in exasparation._

_"A lot." He assured her and took a nervous step backwards._

_"Sammy-boy, you are the first guy I've ever met who'd pass up something like this to talk." _

_"Ah jus' don' wanna make a mistake, Tabby." He said softly._

_"A what!" She crossed her arms. "So sleeping with me would be a mistake, would it?" She snapped._

_"What, no! Ah didn' mean it like that!" He cried. "Ah just meant Ah wanted ta be sure neither of us would regret it!"_

_"Regret it?" Her eyes narrowed. "I thought you loved me. That's what you said anyway. Forgive me for thinking you meant it." She snapped._

_"Ah did! Ah do!" He ran a hand through his hair looking extremely nervous. _

_"Then prove it." She smirked and moved towards him again, reaching insistently for his tee-shirt._

_"Ah am." He said, restraining her away by holding her shoulders. _

_"Um, no, you're really not." She dropped her arms to her sides._

_"Tabby, Ah'm provin' mahself by not goin' fer a roll in the hay with ya." _

_"Right." She said slowly. "And how precisely is that showing you love me?"_

_"It means Ah think yer worth more than one night of cheap fun." He explained. "Ah don't wanna rush into a physical relationship with just anyone. Ah want it ta be special."_

_"We've been dating for months. That's not what I'd call rushing."_

_"Yeah, but Ah...Ah believe in waitin' fer the right time."_

_"Which is now, as incase you didn't notice, my roomies are out and will be for a few good hours."_

_"Tabby, Ah don't think ya entirely understand." He said gently. "Ah need ta be in a commited relationship..."_

_"Committed relationship? For crying out loud what do you want, marriage or something?"_

_He nodded. "Well, yeah." His voice was meek. _

_She stared at him. "Why. In. The. World. Would you do that?"_

_"It's what mah parents always taught me." He said shyly. "They said true love waits."_

_She stared blankly at him. "Nobody in my family ever said that."_

_"Well, it's what Ah believe. Besides, waitin' for somethin' makes ya appreciate it all that much more. It's like...when yer little an' there's a toy ya gotta have. If ya go spend yer allowence on it that week, ya like it for a little while an' then forget it when somethin' better comes along. But if ya wait till Christmas, ya love it so much more."_

_"Ya, but Sammy-boy, this isn't a rubix cube or a magic eight ball." She pointed out._

_"Exactly, it's bigger than that. It ain't somethin' to play around with. It's special."_

_"I know that." She admonished. "But what would a dumb old ring do to make it more special?"_

_"Well, marriage is the most permanent thing Ah know of on earth, Tabby." He smiled. "And if ya've kept yourself pure for that one special person, it's like...givin' a gift of yourself."_

_"You lost me." She said with a frown._

_"Well..." He paused, searching for an analogy. "Think of ya body like a really pretty flower."_

_"Ok..." She said skeptically._

_"Now imagine that before ya ever do anythin' with anyone, it's real beautiful an' special. It's a unique flower, there ain't no other one like it anywhere in the world."_

_"Right." She nodded, wondering where this was leading._

_"But each time ya sleep with somebody, it's like pluckin' a petal off the flower." She winced as the analogy clicked. "When ya find the one you want to spend forever with, do ya wanna give 'em a really gorgeous special flower, or an ugly and used up green stumpy thing? Ah don' know bout you, but Ah'd be kinda ashamed of mahself if the best Ah could do was offer up a petal-less flower ta somebody Ah really loved."_

_She frowned and stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself. "I never thought about it that way before."_

_"Most people don'." He said gently. "Most people tend ta spend more care satisfyin' their wants in the present rather than looking to the future. But Ah ain't gonna do that. That way, when Ah do decide ta settle down, Ah can be proud that Ah'm givin' maself whole outta love."_

_Tabitha bit her lip. "That would be a special gift then, I guess." _

_"So if uh...all the awkwardness is over...wanna go watch a movie or something? When the new kids professor X told us about get here we'll prolly be too busy gettin' retrained to catch much alone time."_

_She shook her head, fighting the crushing tide of misery that was welling inside her from Sam's earlier words. "No thanks. Actually I...I think Jean wanted a little help planning tomorrow's welcome party. But you go on ahead." She said in a would-be-chipper tone._

_"Oh." Sam frowned softly and looked a little put out. "Okay then, ya have fun with that." He said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked forlorn._

_She nodded and watched numbly as he awkwardly picked his shirt off her floor and hastily buttoned it back on. "Well, Ah'll see ya at dinner then Ah guess." He trailed off, as if he'd been asking her a question._

_"Yeah, I'll be there." Tabby gave a weak smile, which he returned, before giving her a chaste but tender kiss._

_"Ah'll save ya a seat, Angel." He smiled sweetly and her heart clenched. She didn't feel much like an angel at the present time. But she nodded anyway and watched him walk slowly away._

_The moment he was gone, she sighed heavily. When he put it that way...she felt ashamed of herself and her actions of the past. She had always been taught that a little fooling around never hurt anyone; in fact it was an expression of love really. If a man loved a woman he slept with her and vice versa. However, Sam's reasoning made a lot more sense to her. _

_She had lied to Sam (Jean had finished the welcome party details two days previous) and it stung. She felt bad about that, but she felt worse about the realization that Sam had just confessed to her he was a virgin and planned on staying that way until he got married-which he had previously hinted might someday be to Tabby herself-and she simply ...hadn't been of a similar status since the age of fifteen._

_She headed up to her bedroom, simmering in shame and regret for the past. She wanted to spend a good few hours alone. She was so lost in her thoughts she walked straight into Berserker._

_"Hey Tabby!" He smirked playfully. "Watch where you're going."_

_"Hey Ray." She said miserably. His smirk fell away._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"A little of everything." She sighed._

_"Uh oh, sound's depressing." He raised an eyebrow._

_"You have no idea." She assured him._

_"You're right." He thought for a moment. "Well I do know one way to cheer you up." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively ._

_"Thanks but no thanks, Ray." She said flatly. "It's kind of that being the main problem right now."_

_"Why?" A smirk crept back onto his face. "Your room-mates are all at the mall, and Berto's with them. Sammy-boy's downstairs watching a movie with Jamie and Bobby. So we have two available rooms."_

_"No, Ray." Tabby shook her head. "I'm just...not in the mood for that kind of thing right now."_

_A look of surprise crossed his features. "But...you've never not wanted to-"_

_"I'm just not in the mood." She said tersely. He scowled._

_"Oh, I see how it is." He glared at her. "Last night you were plenty in the mood when you and Sunspot snuck into the locker room, but today, when it's me doing the asking, you 'aren't in the mood'."_

_Tabby's face flushed crimson. "That was a mistake. I shouldn't have done that."_

_"What's with you? You never cared before. It' s not like we've never been together." He pointed out._

_"Yeah, but...I want to try to be a loyal girlfriend for a change."_

_"Right." Ray sneered. "You've done such a bang-up, knockdown job at that part so far."_

_She lowered her eyes. "I know. I've been lousy to him. And I regret it. That's why I decided last night is the last time I'm going to spend the night in anybody else's bed."_

_He stared at her incredulously. "It's not April Fools."_

_"I know." She frowned. "I'm serious."_

_"But-you can't be-but-"_

_"I am." She said finally. "Catch you at dinner, Ray."_

_He watched, scowling furiously at her as she walked away with her hands jammed into her pockets._

_Nothing of consequence happened between that point and the arrival of the new team members, though dinner was a subdued and slightly awkward event. The following afternoon, the newest set of arrivals knocked on the door and all heck broke loose._

_"What are they doing here?" Scott's jaw dropped in horror to find the brotherhood boys and Magneto's acolytes all on the front steps._

_"We heard you lot had a few spare beds." Pyro grinned, flipping the top of his lighter. "And seein' as Bucket Head's off "findin' 'imself' after the debacle with Apocalypse and accountin' for the six of us what ain't old enough to live on our own in this country, figured we'd take ya up on the offer."_

_"Professor!" Scott howled, turning, horror struck to professor X._

_"Take a chill pill, Summers." Lance had rolled his eyes. "We're here to stay whether you like it or not."_

_A large group had gathered around the door. Many of the people were gazing curiously at the eight mismatched teenagers on the step, never having seen them before. And those who had were intrigued with what they were doing at the mansion._

_"So are you gonna let us in?" Pyro asked casually, shifting the weight of his backpack to his other shoulder. "Kinda rude, ain't it? Makin' us stay outside whilst you stare in fascination at us."_

_Jean pushed Scott out of the way and rolled her eyes before smiling. "Sorry for him. Come on in." She gestured for them to enter. _

_Pyro strutted across the threshold with no problem and glanced back at his fellow misfits. The rest seemed more hesitant but came through the tall double doors._

_"Well, first we should probably get introductions out of the way." Jean said in an uncertain voice as she looked around nervously, sensing the mounting hostility among some of the others. "So why doesn't everyone just say their names-given and code and maybe tell your powers?" She smiled encouragingly. "Why don't you guys start?" She pleaded with the group of new arrivers.._

_The brotherhood and Acolytes exchanged startled and exasperated looks. _

_"Well, Oy'm St. John Barnabas Allerdyce. But Sheila's call me Pyro-cuz Oy'm hot stuff." He winked and flipped open his zippo, emitting a trail of flame that circled him._

_"Ok Ok hothead, y're gonna make de rest o' de bums look bad." Gambit rolled his eyes. "No fire in dis house, bon?" The younger boy nodded. "Well 'nyway, De name is Remy LeBeau t' friends, an' Gambit t' foes." He gave Scott a scathing glance. "Y' can just go an' f'rget de first un, homme." Scott set his jaw but said nothing. Remy smirked. "Remy be able t' kineticly excite de molecules in any inorganic substance t' make too much energy fo' d'object t' handle an' so it explodes." He chuckled at the blank looks and fished a card from his pocket. "In laymen terms, Remy make t'ings go boom." He then preceded to create a small explosion with the card. "Oh an' de tall dark un be Petey. He be Russian. An' tres shy."_

_Said mutant blushed slightly. "Thank you very much Remy. But I am perfectly capable of introducing myself." He smiled softly. "I am Piotr Rasputin, and Colossus in battle. I am indeed Russian and I can coat my body in organic metal." Which he proceded to demonstrate._

_A few girls giggled, and all the boys looked murderous. They clearly percieved the attractive young men with exotic accents as a threat. _

_"I'm Lance Alvers. Or Avalanche...I make earthquakes." Lance shrugged realizing how lame that sounded. He figured it would be better not to demonstrate his indoors. Besides, he did not need to show off to impress girls. He had the only one he could ever want._

_"Freddy Dukes. Or the blob." Fred said simply. "I'm real strong."_

_"I'm Todd Tolanksy, yo. But everyone calls me Toad." He shrugged. "I got mad jumping skillz and a killer tongue."_

_"Fits with your killer breath." Wanda muttered. "I'm Wanda Maximoff, but I go by Scarlet Witch to anybody who doesn't me well." She narrowed her eyes. "And if I get one Scarlet Bitch joke..." She glared around threateningly, allowing her fists to glow blue, leaving the imagination to figure out what the punishment would be._

_An awkward silence fell before Pietro broke it. "And I'm her far more charming and much better looking twin brother Pietro Maximoff." He cast a dazzling grin and ran a hand through his hair before jogging around the room in a nanosecond. "They call me Quicksilver." He said in a lame attempt to be dashing._

_"Aw ya can't get em to stop?" A perky voice from the back called. Pietro's eyes jumped to the spunky blond._

_"Boom Boom."_

_"Speedy." She grinned. "Long time no see." She rolled her eyes as he stuck his tongue at her._

_Introductions continued and rooms and roommates were assigned and then Jean led everyone outside where the party began. _

_The party was great fun, with multiple varieties of punch and sodas accompanying dozens of homemade brownies and cookies. Kurt and Kitty had helped Jean put together a few decent cds of dance and party music, and the atmosphere of the whole thing was quite relaxed and comfortable._

_Ray approached Tabitha hesitantly. "Hey Tabby?"_

_"Oh, hi Ray." She stepped away from her friends and gave him a wary look._

_"I just wanted to apologize for...for yesterday." He said softly. "I was in the wrong, it's your body and you choose what to do with it. I had just been hoping...well it's all over now. I brought a peace offering." He held up the cup of pink sparkling punch. _

_She eagerly reached for it. "Thanks, Ray, dancing works a thirst up." She smiled gratefully and took a big gulp of it. A moment later she was choking and spluttering._

_"You okay?" He asked, looking concerned. _

_"Yeah, it burnt my throat. I probably took too big a swallow." She wiped her mouth and settled for a much smaller sip. Ray smiled at her and the two chatted for a while. He got her two refils of punch during their conversation and then sat to watch as she danced with her friends. She never once saw the suspicious smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth-just as she had apparently missed the bottle of very strong liquor he'd been applying to each cup of punch he handed her. _

_When she stumbled a little, she told Amara and the others she was just a little dizzy and needed to sit the next few songs out, and Berserker made his move._

_"Hey Tabby." He grinned._

_"'lo Ray." She slurred a little bit, beaming at him. "Nice party huh?"_

_He handed her another glass of punch and she drained it. _

_"Woah, head rush." She giggled. "Guess I been dan-sting too hard or something." She put a hand to her head as if to massage her temples but she couldn't seem to remember what she'd started. "My head feels fu-nny." She slurred. "Everyfins so fuzzy." She blinked, her eyes half closed. "I don fink my eyes're workim well." She shook her head to clear it and failed. "I see spots." She observed._

_Ray smirked, he hadn't realized how easy it would be to get Tabby to this point. She was already tripping over her own tongue and slurring her speech. _

_"Maybe you should go lie down." He suggested in a calm tone of voice._

_"Yeah, mebbe." She rose slowly and she wobbled._

_He caught her and held her close. "Easy there, Babe." He chuckled. _

_"Wuss wrong with me?" Tabby asked quietly._

_"Maybe you're coming down with something."_

_As the alcohol from the spiked drink had been given ample time to take effect, it had left her unable to put together the pieces of what was happening._

_"Maybe." She said absently._

_"Come on, I'll walk you upstairs." He let her lean on him for support as he made his way to the elevator._

_Once inside he gave a predatory smile that she misinterpreted as genuine. "You know, it's a shame." The elevator slowly whirred to life. She gave him a goofy look that expressed her curiosity. "It's a shame about you deciding to change your lifestyle. We never had a last night together." She nodded carelessly. _

_"S'wat my broyfend 'serves." She slurred._

_"I quite agree." Ray grinned. "It's just that, well I like you a lot too Tabby. And it makes me mighty sad that I can't even show you one more time."_

_She shrugged. "Don' wanna cheat anymore."_

_"But Tabby, Sam's my best friend. He'd understand." Ray lowered his face to hers, pressing for a gentle but hungry kiss. "He wouldn't mind you being with me one last time."_

_And something clicked off in Tabitha's mind and suddenly she was kissing back, sloppily admittedly, but she was full of an energy that seemed out of place considering he'd practically dragged her into the elevator._

_He smirked against her lips and forced the kiss into its French version as he tangled his fingers in her hair and pressed her against the wall. She whimpered slightly and as the door slid open he stumbled backwards, taking them both out of the elevator. He didn't break the kiss as he half carried her down the hall. She managed a slightly confused look as they passed her room._

_"More privacy in here." He mumbled in explanation and somehow miraculously opened the door of the guest room behind him, half dragging her inside. He resumed kissing her passionately, all the while tugging at the string trying her bikini top._

_The memory skipped forward at this point, due mostly to Tabby's inebriated state causing that memory to continue to grow fuzzier, as well as Betsy's lack of desire to watch the X-Rated _**((The pun really wasn't intended here...**)) _scene play out. It slid forward quickly, but not before Betsy picked up a strong image of Tabby waking confused and dreadfully hung over in the guest room, feeling sick about what she knew must have happened the night before._

_The memory resumed as Tabitha started feeling a little ill. She figured she was coming down with a flu or something, but as time stretched on, she recieved a nasty shock. She realized that she was late, a situation she'd never been in before. Even more horrible she realized shed made a mistake somewhere earlier and had missed two birth control pills. Thinking back, she realized with dread that the two nights could only have been the night she spent with Roberto and the drunken encounter with Ray._

_This realization made the whole situation that much worse as she had been explicitly warned that missing even one could result in dire consequences if she wasn't careful-which she definitely hadn't been on the two nights in question due to Roberto's allergy to latex and the fact that she was too sloshed to care the night of the party. She felt even more ill as she put all the pieces together._

_But still, she couldn't accept the possible truth, she just couldn't. She snuck out of the mansion and stopped at the nearest convenience mart. She found what she needed and paid before hurrying back home clutching her parcel. She locked herself in the bathroom joined to her room and stared at the box for several long hard minutes before opening the package with trembling hands. She followed the directions to the letter and waited for the longest five and a half minutes of her life._

_When the small plastic device emitted a quiet blip she picked it up and bit her lip, keeping her eyes closed. She feared what the results would say, but at the same time she desperately needed to know. So with a deep breath she allowed both eyes to open. With a rush of horror, she felt as though all the air in her lungs had been rapidly forced out of her body. She stared at the small plastic indicator and felt empty._

_It may have only been a few moments, but to Tabitha it felt like years before she slid to the floor in stunned silence, still staring blankly at the indicator as though hoping it might dissolve into thin air._

_It was the most shocking of people who found her in that position, some hours later. Jean had been worried as the younger girl had missed dinner. So she went to find the girl and see what was wrong. She had felt the disturbance from the bathroom and decided that would be an ideal place to start. When Tabitha hadn't let her in willingly, she forced the lock and entered. To her great shock, the young blond was sitting on the floor, clutching her knees and staring warily at a telltale plastic indicator._

_"Tabby?" Jean's voice was soft and gentle. She knelt down beside the younger girl. "Is this what I think it is?"_

_Tabitha, still an empty shell, merely nodded. Jean bit her lip and picked it up tentatively. "Positive. Who?"_

_Tabby looked shaken and ashamed as she shrugged. She really didn't know who. _

_"What happened?" Jean asked in a quiet voice. "I thought you were on the pill?" She said uncertainly._

_"Yeah, but I missed a couple of them." Tabby found her voice, it was flattened. "And I wasn't...careful without them." Tears pricked her eyes. _

_Jean didn't know what to say in reply to that. She lay a comforting hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Oh, Tabby..."_

_"What am I gonna do, Red?" Tabitha asked weakly. "I-I'm only seventeen. I don't know what to do."_

_"Maybe you should talk to the professor." Jean suggested. "I'm sure he can help."_

_"You think so?" Tabitha looked torn between terrified and hopeful._

_"Well, he always knows what to do and how to handle tough stuff." Jean smiled. "He'll know what to have you do. C'mon." She rose to her feet and extended a hand which Tabitha eyed warily._

_"Now?"_

_"Well, yeah. It's probably better to tell him sooner rather than later." Jean rationalized._

_"I guess so." Tabby shrugged and climbed to her feet. "D'you think he'll be real mad?" She asked nervously._

_Jean thought for a moment. "I don't think so. I've never seen him mad before. But even so, I think as the headmaster of the school, he has every right to know."_

_Tabby nodded again and looked apprehensively at the door. _

_"What's wrong?"_

_"I don't…he's gonna be mad at me." She said with certainty. "I know he is."_

_"You don't know that." Jean tried, gently._

_"Yeah I do." Tabby sighed. _

_"Want me to come with you?" Jean asked in a kind voice. "For moral support?"_

_"Would you?" Tabby asked with relief spreading to her features. _

_"What are friends for?" Jean smiled._

_Tabby smiled back. The two of them had never really been friends, but if the older girl was willing to be there for her when she told the professor about her news, she was willing to embrace the offer._

_"Thank you." Tabby muttered as they headed to the professor's study. Tabitha was a whole bundle of emotion she'd not ever felt simultaneously and having the added support was reassuring._

_"I don't mind." Jean assured the younger girl. "I was worried about you when you didn't show up for dinner. We had your favorite."_

_They arrived at the door to the study and Tabby raised her hand to knock. _

_"Come on in, ladies."  The professor greeted._

_"It's always unnerving when he does that." Tabby shook her head as Jean smiled and opened the door for them._

_"Ah, Tabby and Jean, to what do I owe the honor?" The professor asked politely, making a steeple with his fingers._

_Tabitha opened her mouth to speak and found she couldn't. To her horror, she was frozen and shaking mildly._

_Jean frowned slightly and turned back to the professor. "Tabitha has something she needs to tell you, Professor."_

_Xavier looked at Tabitha with a mildly puzzled expression. "Is everything alright, Tabitha?"_

_Tabby shook her head and gulped. "Well, sir…I…" She swallowed hard and focused on her shoes. Unable to utter the words she merely held out her indicator and flinched waiting for him to flip out._

_The professor was silent for a few moments. "Well, this does explain a few unanswered questions."_

_Tabitha looked up, confused. Jean looked as though she felt quite the same. "Sir?"_

_"Young Elizabeth approached me a few days ago after witnessing you throwing up after a meal, Tabitha." The professor explained. "She was under the impression that you were possibly struggling with the sort of self-image issues that could contribute to Bulimic behavior. Needless to say, I am quite glad that is not the case."_

_Tabitha's jaw dropped. She could not help it, she had mentally prepped herself for a screaming match or to be expelled from the school._

_"Why the shock, Tabitha?" He smiled in that grandfatherly way he had about himself. _

_"You're not pissed off?" The words tumbled from her lips before she could recall them._

_"Well, admittedly I am a bit disappointed in your actions, but what is done is done, is it not?"_

_"Yeah but…You aren't going to punish me? Make me do manual labor till my fingers fall off or do danger room sessions with Badger til I'm fifty?" She asked incredulously._

_"My dear girl, what on earth would give you that impression?"_

_She stared at him, confused and speechless. _

_"Tabitha, there is no pretending I am pleased with the decisions you've made, but please understand I respect that they were your choices to make. As is, there is little to do about the situation, other than to accept that a little one shall be joining our number in a few months time."_

_"You mean you aren't kicking me out?" Her voice was hopeful._

_"Goodness no." He looked affronted. "I see no reason why I should even consider that course of action."_

_Relief flooded over her. "Really? But I broke school rules…"_

_"That you did, but as I've said already, what's done is done. It would only be doing you a disservice to turn you away when you are in a time of great need such as this. I find it hard to believe the world beyond these walls would be incredibly accepting of a homeless teenage mutant mother." Tabitha bowed her head. "You are welcome to continue residing at the institute, so long as you take responsibility for your actions."_

_She looked up, puzzled again. He looked a bit sterner. "Does this child's father know that he is indeed a father?"_

_Tabitha shook her head, shame prickling her cheeks. _

_"Then the first step is to share the news." The professor said clearly. "Following that, you must arrange the necessary medical appointments to receive adequate prenatal care—I am assuming, of course, that you intend to keep this child?" He fixed her with a pointed stare._

_"Well, I hadn't thought about it yet." Tabby stammered. "I…I only just found out…"_

_The professor frowned. "Well, there is still time for that decision-and it is not one to take lightly. But whether you decide to raise this child as your own or put it up for adoption-"_

_"Sir, couldn't I just-"_

_"No." Xavier's eyes narrowed. "That is quite out of the question. I will not allow any person in my reach to exterminate human life as a means of birth control simply because the life they created is inconvenient!" He scowled. "You will not terminate this child, am I understood?"_

_"Yes sir." Tabitha said softly, slightly shocked._

_The professor closed his eyes and calmed down. "Yes, in any case, you will need to ensure that both you and the child you carry within you are properly cared for. Now, I will happily cover medical finances for you, as I have excellent insurance coverage. I will also continue to provide food and lodgings. However for all other infant related expenses, I am afraid I must ask you to find a means to provide for your child. As your family is under a rather considerable financial strain, I would not feel right asking for money from your mother. I would personally recommend you take a part time job to start saving money. The sooner you secure a well paying job, the more money you will save and the easier a time you will have with this whole ordeal."_

_She stared at him in shock. "Job? But…I'm…I can't have a job can I?"_

_"Why wouldn't you be able to?" He asked calmly. "You still have many months before you would be unable to do physical work."_

_"Oh." She nodded. "Well, then, I'll do my best to find a decent job."_

_The professor smiled. "Good girl. Now, I feel I should clear up a few misconceptions about other responsibilities." He raised an eyebrow and she gulped. "For starters, this is hardly an excuse to get out of Danger Room Sessions."_

_ She looked horrified. "You mean I'm still gonna hafta train? Even when I swell up like a blimp?"_

_He chuckled. "Yes, you will still be obligated to attend a daily workout. Exercise is important to maintain a healthy life. I shall have Logan slowly bring you down to a routine fit for an otherwise healthy young woman in your condition."_

_Tabitha sighed. "Okay."_

_"And second, I would strongly recommend you continue with your education, despite the fact that it may require an interruption when the baby is due."_

_Tabitha's jaw dropped open again. "You have gotta be kidding."_

_"I assure you I jest not, Tabitha." The professor said gently. "You came to the institute to acquire an escape from a tough home life, and also to receive the best education available to you. I do not believe that objective has changed."_

_"But…" Tabitha gaped. "You can't really mean that I have to go back to Bayville High." She reasoned. _

_"Tabitha, you would not be the first teenage mother in high school." He said patiently._

_"Bet I'm the first mutant one." She muttered under her breath with a strongly displeased look on her face._

_"She's right on that one professor." Jean spoke up for the first time in a while. "I don't know of any recorded mutant teen pregnancies out of Bayville."_

_"See?" Tabitha gestured to Jean. "Even Red agrees!"_

_"Oh I don't mean I think you shouldn't go." Jean corrected gently. "I'm just pointing out that you will endure more ridicule."_

_"I am certain Tabitha can handle it. I am sure you wouldn't really want to miss out on your senior year, Tabitha." The professor smiled. "Now if that is all you ladies had to say, I have paperwork to fill out."_

_"What for?" Jean asked._

_"Well as I'm certain everyone's noticed, space is getting limited around here. I'm planning on building an addition to the mansion." He nodded. "This section will have more restrooms and its own kitchen. And more closet space. I figure I should probably incorporate a few family rooms as well, as Tabitha's child is not likely to be the last."_

_The girls nodded and turned to leave the room. "So where are you off to now? Scott and I are catching a movie in about half an hour."_

_"I think I'm gonna do what the professor advised." She sighed. "I think I need to go have a talk with…well the dad-to-be." _

_"I thought you said you didn't know who-" _

_Jean froze. She had just opened the door to find Scott standing there ready to knock. "Hey honey," she started warily, trying to gage his reaction to what he'd heard._

_"Tabitha's child?" He narrowed his eyes. "Dad-to-be? I very sincerely hope I'm making the wrong connection."_

_"Scott…" Jean started in a soothing voice._

_"Well?" He ignored his wife and glared at Tabitha. "Is it true?" He glowered at the plastic indicator in her hand._

_The girl bit her lip and nodded. Scott was silent for a few long moments. His face steadily flushed an angrier and angrier shade of red. "How did this happen?" His tone was icy and he was struggling to control it. _

_Tabitha blinked nervously. She looked to Jean in panic as Scott lost his temper. "How in the name of Hell did this happen!" His voice rose._

_"Scott, dear, calm down." Jean placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone makes mistakes."_

_Scott for his part didn't seem to notice Jean. "What's wrong with you!" He hollered at Tabitha, who cringed. "We all knew you were fooling around, but you were on the Pill! The ((**fudging))** Pill which was supposed to prevent this from happening! So how did this happen!"_

_"I accidentally for-" Tabitha started in a weak and startled voice._

_"Forgot? You forgot! How could you forget to take something you've been taking every day for the last two and a half years! What the Hell were you thinking!"_

_"Scott, that's enough!" Jean said sternly, forcing him to notice her. "She feels bad enough as it is! You don't need to make it any worse."_

_"Do you have any idea what this means?" He scowled at her. _

_"Actually Scott, I do." She narrowed her eyes. "It means a friend of mine has gotten herself into a big situation and my husband is being horrible to her."_

_"You have no idea how big, Jean!" He rolled his eyes. "This is going to cripple the new strategy I designed for the team's training! All that work is wasted now! All because she went and got herself knocked up!"_

_Tabitha looked as though he'd punched her across her face. Jean inflated with fury. She opened her mouth. "What's wrong with you Scott? You're being so-"_

_"That is enough!" The professor interrupted angrily as he wheeled over to the students. "Scott, get a hold of yourself. This chain of events was not foreseen or planned for, but it is not a personal statement of defiance against you. I would keep my temper in check if I were you. An attitude like that is a poor one for a team leader to have." He looked stressed. "That is all you may go. Oh and Tabitha?"_

_"Yeah?" She asked, her voice shaky._

_"I'd recommend you to share this secret with your friends before it shares itself." Tabitha nodded and looked down cast. She turned away and placed her hand on the door to let herself out. As she exited she felt dejected, like the professor had brushed her aside, rushing her from his study._

_In the hall Scott and Jean were still furiously arguing, though it appeared to be a telepathic conversation. Jean was glaring and her hands were balled into fists on her hips and Scott had crossed his arms defiantly. All of a sudden, Jean's eyes widened in shock and horror at something Scott had said...er thought. _

_"You know Jean, I don't really think I'm in the mood to catch that movie after all." Scott said aloud in a chilly tone. _

_Jean looked as though he'd smacked her. "But-"_

_"No Jean. I'm not in the mood to go out. If anyone should need me, I'll be in the Danger Room." He turned and stormed off, stomping his feet for good measure._

_Tabitha looked at Jean who stared after Scott with a confused and distraught expression on her face. The younger girl stared after the team leader before breaking down into horrified sobs. _

_"I'm so so sorry!" She cried. "Now I've gone and ruined e-everything!"_

_Jean shook her head, still in shock, but rather sadly. "No Tabitha, it isn't your fault." She blinked back a few tears. "Scott had no reason to flip out the way he did." She watched sadly as he disappeared down the hall. "He'll cool down. He's just a bit shocked."_

_Tabitha sighed, not bothering to point out that the other woman's husband almost never cooled down and got over something that shook him into a temper like this._

_"Are you still going to talk to the baby's father?" Jean changed the topic._

_Tabby bit her lip and nodded._

_"But I thought you didn't know who..." Jean looked confused._

_"I know who it might be." Tabby said with a soft gulp. She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "I guess it's the guy's right to know isn't it?"_

_Jean nodded. "It is his baby too, Tabby." She said gently._

_"You're right." The blond smiled weakly. "I suppose the damage has been done. It won't get any easier if I don't do this."_

_"Do you want me to come?" Jean asked. "I realize it will be personal but..."_

_"No, you don't have to." Tabby shook her head gently. "I can handle it. You probably should go check up on Scott or whatever."_

_"He'll be fine. It's you I'm more concerned with at the moment."_

_"Thanks, Red. But you go on and don't let me mess up your evening any worse. I'll call you if I need you."_

_Jean smiled and gave the younger girl an encouraging hug before retreating down the hall. Tabitha headed up to the boys dorms, fidgeting nervously._

_She knocked on the desired door and a sudden unexplainable feeling of dread crawling to her throat. She swallowed repeatedly._

_"S'open!" One of the rooms occupants called. She hesitantly opened the door and peeked in._

_"Tabby!" Ray grinned. "Finally the party arrives. We just sat down for a round of poker. Want me to deal you in?"_

_She shook her head and suddenly found herself intrigued with the worn carpet on the floor. _

_"Tabby? Everythin' alright, baby?" Sam quickly rose to his feet, an expression of concern on his face._

_'Interesting choice of words' she thought wryly and forced herself to look up. She suddenly cursed the rooming arrangements. This had to be the single most inconvenient group of roommates in the mansion. "Not really." Her voice was small and shaky. "I ...I need to talk to you guys. All of you."_

_"If it's about the dye in Logan's shampoo," Roberto's eyes shifted nervously. "That was all Jamie's idea! And Bobby helped!"_

_"It's not that." She couldn't even smile. She again looked at her feet, unable to meet any of the boys' eyes. _

_"Tabby, ya startin' ta scare me." Sam tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong?"_

_"I...I...I'm late." She said blandly. The silence was deafening. The three boys gaped at her, displaying varying degrees of shock. When they didn't reply she elaborated. "I should have noticed when it didn't come, but I didn't think anything of it and now..." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I just took a test and it came out positive."_

_Sam collapsed to the floor, completely missing his chair. He was pale with shock. _

_Ray just waved a hand flippantly. "You've been on that Pill thing since you were fifteen. What you're saying is impossible."_

_She swallowed hard. "I'm not wrong, I am..." she hesitated, flushing. "I am gonna have a baby. And...it's one of yours." She said meekly._

_"Wha...how?" Sam choked. "How could this...? Tabby?" _

_"Yeah, Sammy's right." Roberto spoke in an upset tone. "How did this happen?"_

_"You said you were on the pill!" Ray accused. She buried her burning face in her hands. _

_"I was!" She cried. "But I missed a couple. And that screwed up my cycle and now..." She fell silent._

_"You're lying!" Roberto narrowed his eyes. "You've got to be!"_

_"Why would I lie about this?" Tabitha felt the tears pooling. _

_"Cuz you're a lying manipulative little slut." Ray spat. _

_Tabitha looked around at them. Roberto was shaking his head, convincing himself she was lying, Ray was sneering and muttering rude things under his breath, and Sam's reaction was worse. _

_His deep Kentucky tan had paled to a deathly shade. His eyes were simultaneously struck with horror and sunken. He had yet to close his mouth. He didn't seem able to speak. He looked vaguely like somebody had bashed him over the heat with a club._

_"Ya...ya cheated on me?" His voice was small and sad, which made her feel worse._

_"Sam..." She started. She realized this would be a nasty blow to him and she didn't know anyway to cushion it. "I'm-"_

_"Don't." He stopped her curtly. "Ah don' wanna hear it Tabitha." She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off again. Their eyes met and she was startled to see tears. "Ah don' get how ya could do this, but Ah can' take it right now."_

_"Sam..."_

_"Out." He mumbled quietly. "Just get out. Ah can't look at ya right now." He turned his head, embarrassed by the hot tears escaping his eyes._

_She took a step toward him, tears in her own eyes. _

_"JUST GET OUT OF HERE!" He snapped. _

_"I need to explain-" She started._

_"No body wants to hear it," Sam shook his head._

_"He's right." Ray commented idly. _

_"Sam, listen!" Tabby pleaded._

_"Ah trusted ya!" He spat. "With all ma heart!" She couldn't respond to that. He kept going, his voice getting louder and shakier with each new word. "Ah loved ya more'n ya even know! An' how d'ya respond ta that! Ya go an' jump inta bed with ma best friends, thats how! How could you!"_

_"Sam, I..." She swallowed tears. _

_"Save it." He sneered. "Ah've heard enough of your lies."_

_She boldly stepped toward him, laying a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was hoarse, but she tried to keep her tone level. "I never wanted-"_

_He threw her hand away and opened his mouth to retort._

_Ray beat him to it. "What, you think any of us did?" He said coldly. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at his roommates. "Funny, none of us seem to have been expecting this turn of events._

_She bit her lip. "I know, alright? The point is, it is happening." She said quietly._

_"Well then go let it happen somewhere else." Roberto dismissed her with the wave of his hand. "I don't personally believe you're being entirely honest."_

_She stared at him. "What?" She gaped._

_"You heard me." Roberto shrugged. _

_"You think I'd make this up?"_

_Roberto paused for a second. "In a heartbeat." He smirked. "It's an attention ploy."_

_She gaped at him, at all the guys. She glanced at her fist, still clutching the telltale plastic indicator._

_"And besides," Roberto continued arrogantly. "Even if you are telling the truth, I don't see any evidence that says this isn't just a sick cry for attention."_

_Red hot rage blinded her. She threw the indicator at his forehead with all the strength she could muster. "Is that good enough 'evidence' for you?" She balled her hands into trembling fists. _

_"Woah!" Ray jumped up. "The Hell's your problem **((female dog; rhymes with witch))**!"_

_Roberto put a hand to his forehead and gingerly removed his fingertips, pulling a disgusted face at the sight of his blood. There was a thin cut in his forehead from the sharp plastic edge. "What was that for?"_

_"I am not making it up!" Tabitha's voice was quaking but she was practically screaming as tears threatened to fall again. _

_"So what?" Ray glowered at her. "Even if you are telling the truth, you can't pin it on any of us. You sleep around too much."_

_A large concentration of energy began building in each of her hands. "It is one of you."_

_"Have fun proving it." Ray snorted. "They wouldn't do a DNA test for a mutant. Especially a mutant whore like you."_

_BOOM! The energy balls exploded and Tabitha was seeing red. She started shouting some pretty colorful things at him and the door burst open. Wolverine was looking wild, his eyes were mad and his claws were out. Apparently the shouting and explosion had caught his attention._

_"What's goin' on in here?" Wolverine asked with a snarl._

_"What's the matter Tabitha?" Ray taunted, ignoring Wolverine's entrance. "Can't handle the truth?"_

_"Oh if that's true about me, what's it say about you!" She spat back, ignoring Wolverine as well._

_"Don't ask me, I'm not the one claiming to be pregnant!" He shouted._

_Wolverine paled and whipped around to Tabitha who was crying tears of hatred and rage._

_"Oh she's not 'claiming' Ray, she 'IS' pregnant." Roberto said sarcastically._

_"She ain' jus' claimin'." Sam spoke up suddenly. His voice was weak. In the chaos he had bent and picked up the indicator his girlfriend had thrown at his roommate. He stared at it transfixed and horrified. " 'Cordin' ta this thing...she really is."_

_Tabitha sighed. "I told you that part already."_

_Wolverine snarled. "What's this all about?"_

_"Boom Boom's gone nuts." Ray sneered at the girl. "She claims one of us got her knocked up and then she flipped out and went **((fudging))** spastic on us."_

_The older mutant turned to the girl for confirmation. She fidgeted and looked away._

_"Oh boy." Wolverine whistled. "This true kid?"_

_Tabitha nodded and cast her eyes to the floor. "Yeah." She sounded much younger than she really was. "I'm pregnant."_

_Wolverine turned back to the boys with a growl. "Somebody's getting neutered tonight...Which one of these scum is it, Boom Boom?"_

_She shook her head. _

_"Oh please. Just cuz she has that, it doesn't mean she's telling the truth." Ray rolled his eyes. _

_Sam wasn't listening. "Ah just don' undastand ya Tabitha." He snapped. "We had somethin' good an' ya went an' screwed it up ba sleepin' with ma best friends!" He seemed to be a mixture of hurt and angry. _

_"It wasn't personal." Tabitha sighed weakly. She sounded emotionally drained._

_"How wasn' it 'personal'?" Sam snapped. "We had a good long conversation bout why we weren' doin' that kinda thing so ya turn around ta ma roommates and hop into their beds cuz Ah wouldn't?"_

_"It doesn't have anything to do with what you would or wouldn't do." Tabby flushed. "I was with both of them before you ever asked me out!"_

_"And you never bothered to mention that!" Sam's eye twitched._

_"I never thought it was that important." She mumbled. "It wasn't like I was serious with them or anyone else!"_

_"Anyone else?" Sam gaped at her. "Meaning you've been cheating on me with what, nearly every guy in this mansion!" She opened her mouth to defend herself but he cut her off. "Maybe Ray's right. Maybe you are just a lying whore."_

_The words stung like a dagger to heart. Like a bullet to her brain. He hadn't raised a finger against her, yet she felt like he'd just pummeled her. She almost wished he had. The sting would likely be significantly less painful. Without another word she turned on her heel, pushed past Wolverine and raced, sobbing horribly, for the mansion's front door._

Betsy eased out Tabitha's memories. She, like everyone else in the mansion was familiar with what had happened next. Everyone had heard the screaming and explosion and nearly everybody saw Tabitha barreling out of the mansion in tears that fateful night. According to the students who'd been right outside the three boys' dorm room, Wolverine had promised to deal with the boys later, and painfully, after he brought Tabitha back to the mansion. He had hopped on his motorcycle and raced after the distraught girl. She had a fair head start and adrenaline pumping through her body to give her a big advantage. It had been well past curfew when Wolverine and Tabitha had shown up again. Everyone was fuzzy on the details other than that, even Tabitha's three roommates had no idea what had happened to upset Tabitha so badly and she normally told them everything.

Rumors flew around for a few days but then the incident was old news to most of the students after a particularly nasty FOH anti-mutant spectacle at the mall that put seven x-students into the hospital wing as well as hospitalizing sixteen innocent bystanders. But Tabby's friends were still concerned for her. They tried coaxing her into talking about it until she made it very clear she didn't want to talk about what had happened to anybody, even them.

Betsy extracted the two of them from the astral plane. As soon as she had arms instead of wings she pulled her friend into a soothing hug. She murmured comforting words into Tabby's ear as the younger girl cried silently into her shoulder.

♥

For the past three-and-a-half hours Remy and Scott had been sparring. And though Remy was feeling he could easily go on for another three-and-a-half, the team leader was beginning to look a little worse for wear.

Remy surveyed his opponent as he continued to gracefully evade and block all of Scott's hits, which were growing increasingly erratic and sloppy. "Y' wanna hit de showers homme?" He asked in concern.

"Why?" Scott grunted. "You getting too tired?"

Remy shook his head. "Not me Remy worryin' bout."

"What do you mean?" Scott threw a punch which Remy caught in his hand and deflected before returning the blow. Scott wasn't fast enough and stumbled backwards for a moment catching his breath.

Remy raised an eyebrow. "Yo' kiddin' right? Y' look like Hell." And in honesty he did. Scott was panting slightly, and a little winded from Remy's most recent blow to his stomach. He wiped a bit of sweat from his visor with the back of his hand. His hair and chest were also drenched with sweat.

"Appearances can be decieving." Scott lunged again. Remy rolled his eyes and deflected the careless blow.

"Just sayin' y' look like y' could use a rest." Remy shrugged.

"So what if I feel it in the morning, I'll be fine. I'm not quitting until you're down."

Remy rolled his eyes again. He aimed a loose punch and Scott staggered. "Yo' feelin' it now Cyke."

Scott threw another punch. "What's wrong, scared or something?" Scott taunted.

"Not in particular." Remy shrugged. He blocked another punch and gracefully kicked. "Just offerin' y' an out mon ami."

"Funny and here I thought you'd want to show off for the fan club watching from the control room." Scott sneered and threw his own kick.

"Oh so y' did notice dem." Remy commented idly.

"Hard not to." Scott commented. "I think every girl from the mansion's up there. Look, Tabitha's at the front, isn't that endearing?"

"I notice Jean ain' among the crowd." Remy said lightly.

"Good. I don't need my wife ogling you."

Remy shrugged. Around six, Remy had peeled off the fuchsia and black top piece of his uniform. The material had become too sweat saturated to be terribly comfortable. Scott had followed suit about fifteen minutes later. The training uniforms the X-men wore were only suitable for short-term exercise. The real uniforms were much more durable and comfortable for long combat but neither Remy nor Scott had properly estimated the fight stamina of his opponent.

"Well Remy don' need Jeannie ogling' 'im either." He said placidly. "Don' wanna git me a reputation makin' married femmes break dey vows. She all yo's Scooter." Remy chuckled. "B'sides got m' eyes on a special fille."

"Tabitha? You got more than your eyes on her." Scott spat.

"Non I don't." Remy said indignantly. "Don' be ridiculous, Summers."

"You seemed pretty friendly last night." Scott scowled. "And that baby of hers, it's yours isn't it?"

"Hell non." Remy frowned. "De fille an' Remy only friends, not'n mo'."

"And yet I find that so hard to believe." Scott mock sighed. "With her sleeping around the way she is, and you being such a **((rhymes with vandoor)) **you really are a perfect match."

A dark look crossed Remy's face. "Don' call her dat."

"Why not? She is." Scott said cruelly. "And so are you. But you deny liking her. You cannot possibly still be hung up on Rogue, could you?"

Remy growled, his eyes narrowing. Cyclops could say what ever he wanted about Remy, but the Cajun felt he'd be obligated to gut the team leader if he didn't stop talking crap about the girls on the team.

"Geez, you really are aren't you?" Scott laughed. "Grow up already Gambit, she doesn't like you. She won't ever like you. Your obsession scares her. And besides. She can't even touch you."

Remy's face darkened. "Dere's more t' a relationship den touch, Summers."

"Yeah, there's trust and honesty and loyalty and love. I doubt any girl will ever get that from a skirt chaser such as yourself."

Remy threw a particularly nasty punch at the other mutant. "Y' shut yo' fat mout'!"

"It's true though." Scott said with a sneer. "Who the Hell would trust you, you're a thief. That also tackles the honesty thing. You're like a compulsive liar. And as for loyal? Do you know the definition of that word?"

Remy growled again and hit harder than he meant to.

"Of course, Rogue really wouldn't care." Scott said flippantly. "If she had control of her powers she probably wouldn't care about the rest of it. Though it would tear her apart the moment you moved on to the next little challenge."

"Shut up." Remy was seeing red. "You shut up 'bout Rogue. Mon dieu, yo' supposed t' be de femme's friend!" He spat.

Scott shrugged. "I'm just telling it like it is. You're a bad influence on the girls here."

"Dat means what precisely?" Remy snapped.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Scott scoffed. "You're like...every mother's nightmare of the boy her daughter will fall for. You're a drinker, a smoker, a gambler, and a player. You show up here, and then a girl who's notorious for sleeping around ends up pregnant. Not a coincidence in my eyes." Scott said malevolently. "If you were to pick up with Rogue, how long would it be before she's in the exact same position?"

Scott may have had more to say but he was silenced with a sharp punch to the head. The blow threw him backwards and he banged his head on the wall. He swore violently and moved to retort but the Cajun's grip was around his neck and tightening.

"Take it back!" He hissed, red eyes glinting demonically. "Take it back y' sack of scum!" Remy growled and pressed Cyclops against the metal wall of the danger room.

There were shrieks and gasps from the control room. The conversation hadn't been heard but the actions were visible. " Y' take back what y' said." The Cajun snarled as Scott's face began to look a little blue as he struggled weakly.

"GAMBIT! CEASE AND DESIST!" A shockingly angry voice cut across the danger room.

♥♥♥

**Hee hee, it's me again, the annoying author with scattered update pattern...well this chapter is a bit more angst and violence than I initially intended, but I promise next chapter will have lots of Fluffy happiness to counteract. And don't worry, I have not lost sight of the point of this story. And I have not forgotten Romy. Next chapter will have a bit of it. Well I'm tired and I think I've earned some sleep. Next update is for the story I cowrite with Howlerdrode: "End of the World". Check it out, you may like it; its a crossover with the Legion of Superheroes and select EVO characters. After that chapter BID gets an update and that will be quite a happy one. There's probably more I wanted to say but I'm really tired and want sleep**

**Reviewers get an invisible tape of shirtless Remy sparring!**

August 19, 2006

♥**HH♥**


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